Jeff Barnhart & Spats Langham • We Wish We Were Twins

There are some albums which are done a terrible disservice by either not getting the press nor the reviews they deserve. Such is the case with this album, and it is absolutely scandalous. I’ll explain why. Compact discs featuring mostly pre-1930 songs are ten a penny since the invention of the compact disc. In my opinion, some are bad compilations of original recordings in such bad shape that you can’t hear the music, or noise management so extreme that almost all the highest frequencies are inaudible. Others are bad compilations by recent bands or instrumentalists trying to self-consciously “re-create” the sounds of the era—and they sound tired and uninspired. Like they reluctantly put it together as part of a school assignment for a bored and disinterested teacher who couldn’t have cared less. Hearing a recording of this sort of material, which is not just well-done, but expertly and powerfully played, and with extremely thoughtful programming, is a rarity, in my opinion. I know Jeff quite well, and that he’s recorded how many CDs over the years…approximately 150? (I suspect that even Jeff doesn’t know the exact number). Of those, I’ve probably only heard maybe 15 or 20. But I always knew that Jeff was so talented that one day he would create an album which was not just good, not just excellent, but was a classic. This album is Jeff’s mantlepiece. I mean…hi