Deighton Family

Rolling Home

Green Linnet, 1992

One of the many pleasures in listening to the Deightons' albums is being able to hear the kids growing up before your very ears. This is the third album from these folks, and while the basic formula remains unchanged the next generation of Deightons is adding some new twists.

That formula includes folky covers of rock and country chestnuts, with a chugging rhythm provided by papa Dave's melodeon and mama Josie's guitar. On top of that the kids add flute, mandolin, fiddle, and electric guitar. Dave's odd, nasal, but not unpleasant voice still handles most of the leads, but the four oldest children are all credited with vocals on this album; one of the girls sings "The Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia", and two of them sing an intriguing a capella rendition of Richard Thompson's "Has He Got A Friend". Arthur contributes an original tune, "The Road To Newcastle", and the youngest, Angelina, credited only with "boogie" on previous albums, has graduated to percussion.

The unlikely chestnuts on this album include "I Can See Clearly Now", "Save The Last Dance For Me", "Under The Boardwalk" and "I Forgot To Remember To Forget". Their renditions are often comical in their own way, but never played for camp value -- the humor comes from the incongruity of song and style. The Deightons have a warm ensemble sound that shows how much they enjoy playing together. Invite them into your house sometime soon.

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