vocals and harmonica riffs – the Jambusters are actually the Musicians of the Crooked Road who hail from the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia.  The Jambusters provide the vibrant, authentic and rich picking, fiddling, slapping bass and harmonies behind “Clutch.”   I had the pleasure of hearing the Musicians of the Crooked Road tour last summer and was blown away by their sincere and seemingly effortless warm sound typical of Appalachian country bluegrass.  For those not familiar, think “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?”   If that soundtrack is in your collection, so too, should “It Takes One to Know One.”  What’s even more amazing is that these diamonds are not entirely out of the rough – they all have day jobs including delivering mail and hand crafting instruments.  Led by the technically brilliant picking of Wayne Henderson (reminiscent of Doc Watson) on guitar, Spencer Strickland and Leon Frost on mandolin, Kyle Dean Smith on dobro, banjo, and guitar, Spencer Pennington, Strickland and Gerald Anderson on guitar, Courtney Burroughs, Eddie Bond, and Martha Spencer on fiddle, the Jambusters couldn’t be finer (or as Jonny Clutch says, "finah").

While not a fomally trained musician, Lohman pulls it off in part because his smooth vocals are more than just credible – they’re good.  The choice of material ranges broadly from traditional bluegrass: up tempo classics like High on a Mountain to slow ballads like my favorite, If I Were King (there’d be some changes made)  and Merle Haggard’s Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down to very unique covers of Towne Van Zandt’s Ain’t Leavin’ Your Love and Jimmy Reed’s Bright Lights, Big City.  And then there’s a nostalgic flash from the past in a cover of the theme song from 70s sitcom, Movin’ On Up in which the Jeffersons take that deluxe apartment in the sky – not what you’d expect on a typical bluegrass album.  Lohman’s harmonica skills are not brilliant but generally modest and tasteful. 

Somehow Lohman manages all this with a straight face, (although when performing live he's having too good a time to keep from grinning), complete with detailed (albeit tongue in cheek) liner notes on the story of Johnny Clutch’s short-lived career and the circumstances of his “re-discovery.”   I can imagine how much fun it must have been to record and produce this album and it would still be worth the listen if it were nothing more than a spoof.  Through “It Takes One to Know One”, folklorist Lohman has managed to provide good exposure for a group of hard working and talented musicians, and have a great time doing it.  As an added bonus, he also discovered a new talent: himself.  But in the end, Jonny and the Jambusters soar well above spoof into the rarified air of serious good music.