Drakkar Sauna – Wars and Tornadoes review

Drakkar Sauna – “Wars and Tornadoes”
(Marriage Records)

Does Drakkar Sauna know how to make a bad album, really? Jeff Stoltz and Wallace Cochran seem to have this ability to put together songs that exist outside of time, that might just as easily been written in the dawning years of the last century as today. Wars and Tornadoes has as its billing as “Drakkar Sauna Faithfully Sing Songs of the Louvin Brothers.”

Stoltz and Cochran demonstrate their musical ability to the fullest extent on these songs written by Ira and Charlie Louvin, in that it’s quite difficult to differentiate any of the songs on this album from their originals on previous releases. Drakkar Sauna is a lot of like BR5-49 in that respect. Chuck Mead and company have always made their songs and covers nearly indistinguishable, and acquit themselves well in the execution of both. This could have quite easily been an affair with mandolin and guitar only, and would’ve been just fine. However, Drakkar Sauna is joined by a stellar line-up of help on this album, and that’s really what pushes it from “good” to “fantastic.” Betse Ellis of the Wilders on fiddle, Wayne Gottstein of Split Lip Rayfield on mandolin, and Kory Willis of the Midday Ramblers are only three of the folks on hand for this album and the diversity they bring makes this release a must-own. It’s wickedly twangy, and filled with mournful longing.

No “Great Atomic Power,” tho’. Uncle Tupelo got it first.

River of Jordan