Elektra Records bought out the Even Dozen Jug Band's contract and released their selftitled debut album in 1964; however, true to their name, the band's unwieldy size made them an expensive booking on the club and coffeehouse circuit and they soon disbanded. Many of the members went off to college and in 1964, D'Amato moved to the Bostonarea town of Cambridge, home to another vibrant folk scene. She quickly joined the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and began an affair with singer Geoff Muldaur; the couple eventually married and had a daughter, Jenni, who would later become a singer in her own right. When the Kweskin band broke up in 1968, the couple stayed with their label (Reprise) and began recording together as Geoff Maria Muldaur. They moved to Woodstock, NY, to take advantage of the burgeoning music scene there and issued two albums 1970's Pottery Pie and 1971's Sweet Potatoes before Geoff departed in 1972 to form Better Days with Paul Butterfield, a move that signaled not only the end of the couple's musical partnership, but their marriage as well.
**
In the midst of leaving the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and beginning the juggernaut that would be the solo career of Maria Muldaur, the happily singing and swinging couple made several sides which made expert use of a loose-knit group of players who had grown into masters of the folk revival arts. At times the choice of material on this album is unfortunately lazy; "Havana Moon" was a song that not even Chuck Berry himself could complete without boredom setting in, and the efforts here don't pay off much better. At the same time, the players here really don't need much more than the most basic framework from which to jump off and they are hard at it, pushing the music forward with a sense of purpose that inevitably helped it earn its hard-fought respectability. As a whole, Sweet Potatoes is something of a masterwork, rich and revealing, possessing the contagious enthusiasm of young musicians finding a personal voice in the rich traditions of the past as well as the relaxed sophistication that develops when these players are no longer novices. The Geoff and Maria Muldaur combination, when it was working, was also very special, a challenging partnership that also was something of an inviting nucleus to the players with the talent to be drawn into the fold. This album contains some of the better playing of harmonica man Paul Butterfield, removed from the hyper-drive excess of his blues bands. "Kneein' Me" and "Cordelia" are among the song highlights.
By Eugene Chadbourne, All Music Guide.
**
A rare blues folk album from the seventies. It's mosly a very good album, especially "I'm Rich" , and "Kneein' Me," both written by Geoff Muldaur.. Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon" is probably the weakest track on the album. It was never one of Berry's best songs. Even so, Maria Muldaur gives it a new twist, and her version of Chuck Berry's obscure song works quite well. Check out Maria Muldaur's back catalogue for some brilliant albums. She is a living legend.
**
Geoff Muldaur- Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Luzan, Organ, Horns
Maria Muldaur- Vocals, Tambourine
Amos Garrett- Electric Guitar, Trombone, Vocal on track 3
Bill Keith Pedal- Steel
Billy Mundi- Drums, Luzan, Percussions
John Kahn- Bass
and As Guest;
Paul Butterfield- Harmonica
Jeff Gutcheon- Piano
Bobby Notkoff- Violin
Trevor Lawrence- Bariton Sax
Peter Ecklund- Trumpet
Gene Dinwiddie- Tenor Sax
Munc Blackburn- Alto Sax
Junior Turlock- Bass
Stu Brotman Bowed- Bass, Bass Trombone
Billy Wolf- Bass on track 10
**
01.Blue Railroad Train by Alton Delmore
02.Havana Moon by Chuck Berry
03.Lazybones by Hoagy Carmichael & Johnny Mercer
04.Cordelia by Geoff Muldaur
05.Dardanella by F. Fisher, F. Bernard, J. Black
06.I'm Rich by Geoff Muldaur
07.Sweet Potatoes by Jeff Gutcheon
08.Kneein' Me by Geoff Muldaur
09.Lover Man (Oh Where Can You Be) by R. Ramirez, J. Davis, J. Sherman
10.Hard Time Killin' Floor by Nehemiah James
**
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