I first saw Clinton Davis perform at the Parkfield Bluegrass Festival, and I have also seen him at the California Bluegrass Association’s Father’s Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley more than once. I particularly like his playing because he often plays raggy and blues tunes that I also enjoy playing and listening to. He has a brand new CD, his second on the Tiki Parlour label. The first one is entitled “If I Live and Don’t Get Killed,” and I reviewed it for FolkWorks in July of 2024. Clinton, who plays banjo, fiddle, and guitar and sings vocals with a soaring tenor voice, is joined by Tim McNalley on guitar on six tracks and by Ryan Finch on mandolin on four tracks and on banjo on two tracks. Clinton is a fifth-generation Kentuckian who now lives in San Diego.

The twelve tracks begin with Frank Hutchison’s “All Night Long,” which has a different melody from Burnett and Rutherford’s song of the same title which was on Clinton’s previous album.  Clinton’s vocals fit nicely above his relaxed banjo. The next track is “Plowboy Hop” from fiddler Ben Tinnon, who played with the Grinnell Giggers. Clinton’s fiddle makes this tune rock. “Poor Ellen Smith” is a ballad based on a real murder in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1892. At one time, it was illegal to sing it there because it was said to be written by the murderer who maintained his innocence. This version comes from Bascom Lamar Lunsford. “Mean Conductor Blues” is a finger-picked guitar solo from Alabama guitarist Ed Bell with lyrics from Jackson Lynch.

“Cuttin at the Point” is a lovely banjo solo from Kentucky fiddler Charlie Wilson. “Willie Moore” derives from Burnett and Rutherford and has two guitars both played by Clinton in different tunings. I also remember a great recording of this song by Peggy Seeger. “Train Your Child,” played on zither and piano, is from Texas musician Washington Phillips. The piano strings are plucked by hand, and the tune has an unusual timbre and feel. Clinton says he first heard “Buffalo Gal” when Jimmy Stewart sang it in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Clinton’s banjo gives it a quite different feel than is usually heard in this tune. “Katie Dear” was recorded by the Callahan Brothers and the Blue Sky Boys. Clinton uses his guitar to emulate the harmony singing in those sources. “Amos Johnson Rag” is from African-American guitarist Amos Johnson via Merle Travis and Sam McGee. With two guitars and a slide banjo played by Finch, it has a unique sound.

Clinton combines three-finger melodic, two-finger, and clawhammer banjo for his version of “Fisher’s Hornpipe.” This tune is often played at breakneck speed, but Clinton’s version is more sedate and deliberate and plays with the rhythm. It then goes to a faster tempo and then back to relaxed. The CD concludes with the hard-driving “Swannanoa Tunnel” from Bascom Lamar Lunsford but with the singing and the banjo in the style of George Pegram, who made the very first recording for Rounder Records, Rounder 001. Swannanoa is a railroad tunnel in western North Carolina.

I heartily enjoyed listening to Clinton play live, and I enjoyed this CD a lot, as well. I think you’ll enjoy it, too.

You can order it on Clinton Davis’ Bandcamp channel.