Holy Modal Rounders Too Much Fun! CD

After nearly two decades of not performing together, Holy Modal Rounders founders Steve Weber and Peter Stampfel reunited, playing shows and recording this 1999 release. Undaunted by changing times or their own increasing ages (Stampfel was sixty when this was recorded, Weber a few years behind), this is as riveting, raw and real as their first recordings from the early '60s.

TOO MUCH FUN! is, like the group's other efforts, a mix of obscure and beloved covers and a few originals by the Rounders and/or their cohorts. Of the former, their are a handful of traditional numbers, as well as selections by Roy Acuff, Pee Wee King and Blind Willie Johnson. Among the latter are songs by each of the two members (including revisited versions of "Euphoria" and "Antoinette") and Michael Hurley's "Tea Song." Stampfel and Weber continue to imbue their performances with incredible spur-of-the-moment, flying-by-the-seat-of-their-pants honesty. This disc finds the Rounders as irresistible as ever.

Recording information: Studio at Puck's Farm.

Photographer: Betsy Wollheim.

The Holy Modal Rounders: Peter Stampfel (vocals, guitar, banjo, madolin, fiddle); Steve Weber (vocals, guitar); Dave Reisch (vocals, bass); Don Rooke (slide guitar).

Personnel: Peter Stampfel (vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle); Steve Weber (vocals, guitar); Dave Reisch (vocals); Don Rooke (slide guitar).

Rolling Stone (9/16/99, p.118) - 3.5 stars (out of 5) - "...Now fiftysomething plus, Stampfel, Weber and bassist Dave Reisch share a practically telepathic musical connection: Weber's wild country scat-singing twangs and burns like Stampfel's notebending banjo playing..."
Spin (10/99, p.165) - 8 out of 10 - "...every bit as fine as their debut....the Rounders at their off-handed finest, it's ugly, but pretty; experimental, yet anchored in the folkstreams of what [Peter] Stampfel once called the impossible groove..."
CMJ (7/26/99, p.24) - "...the Rounders' pioneering racket, with its...spirited sense of fun, is likely to grab your heart."
Dirty Linen (12/99-1/00, p.73) - "...the boys never lost their unique appeal....They pick up right where they left off, with bent folk-country plaints, Rounderized trad tunes, original bubble-gum, a Hurley number...and a couple of remakes....some real gems..."