One Night

by Stewart MasonA 1978 live album recorded with the group Shenandoah (not the country-pop band of the '80s and '90s but a strange conglomeration of bluegrass, rock, and jazz players), One Night is a quirky blend of traditional folk songs and unusual covers. The covers range from a bluegrassy take on the Beatles' "I've Just Seen a Face" (quite nice) to the old Elvis (by way of Furry Lewis) hit "One Night" (not at all successful, since Arlo Guthrie has never been known for his soulfulness). The excellent stretch of traditional tunes at the end of side one is the musical highlight of the album, moving from the cowboy standard "Buffalo Skinners" to the early jazz stylings of the instrumental "St. Louis Tickle." Almost all of side two is filled up with one of Guthrie's signature shaggy dog stories, "The Story of Reuben Clamzo & His Strange Daughter in the Key of A." Adapted from an old sea shanty, this is much more a comedic monologue than it is a song, and as much a political commentary as either (it's a subtle tale concerning the Clamshell Alliance, a group opposed to the Seabrook nuclear power plant in Guthrie's adopted home of Massachusetts). It's one of Guthrie's funniest works -- indeed, the monologue is broken up about halfway through by an audience member who goes into such hysterics that it cracks Guthrie up himself -- and a worthy successor to "Alice's Restaurant" that includes, among other things, a dead-on Pete Seeger impersonation. The encore is a lovely version of Ed McCurdy's standard "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream," done Weavers style with close harmonies. It's starts off a little wobbly, but One Night is in the end rather delightful.