Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Ray Condo's Take


A previously unheard (by me, I mean) version of "St. James Infirmary" came to my attention recently by way of Matt Cahill, of Perth, Australia. Mr. Cahill plays lead guitar for a rockabilly band there called Rusty and the Dragstrip Trio. Cahill is partial to Ray Condo's take on "St. James Infirmary." I wasn't familiar with Condo, but it turns out he does a nice, traditional take on it, with an appealing fidddle part, on a 1993 album called Hillbilly Holiday. Condo was a Canadian musician who died in 2004, and the bio on his official home page is a Globe and Mail article written by none other than my old pal Carl Wilson. How about that. Thank you, Mr. Cahill.