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Geoff and Maria Muldaur were a husband-and-wife duo, active from the late 60s until their breakup in 1972.
The second album from the pairing of Geoff and Maria Muldaur came in 1972. Sweet Potatoes was another interesting mix of American roots styles (folk, blues, country, jazz, etc), blended together in imaginative and often surprising ways. As on its predecessor, it featured guitarist Amos Garrett - his role here was even more prominent, as he got to share the vocals with Geoff on "Lazy Bones". Other backing musicians included harmonica man Paul Butterfield, drummer Billy Mundi, fiddle player Bobby Notkoff and steel guitarist Bill Keith. Maria's role was somewhat lessened on this second outing, as most of the vocals were handled by Geoff. Among the highlights were a great re-invention of Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon" and the wry humour of "Kneein' Me".
Following this album Butterfield formed a new band, which Geofff, Maria and Amos all joined. Better Days went on to record two fantastic albums in 1973, but by that time Maria and Geoff had split up, and Maria had left Better Days for a successful solo career.
Pottery Pie (1970) <|
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Geoff and Maria Muldaur were a husband-and-wife duo, active from the late 60s until their breakup in 1972.
Geoff Muldaur and Maria D'Amato both came from folk music backgrounds. Geoff had released a few solo albums in the folk-blues style in the early 60s, and Maria was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene as a member of the Even Dozen Jug Band. The two of them met a few years later as members of Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, where they remained for most of the 60s, and before long they were married. When the band broke up, they remained on the Reprise record label as a duo. They moved to Woodstock and recorded their first album together, Pottery Pie, which was released in 1970.
It turned out to be a great collection of roots music, mixing different strains of folk, blues and country together. Geoff played guitar and keyboards, and backing came from musicians including pedal steel guitarist Bill Keith, drummer Billy Mundi, and guitarist Amos Garrett (who would work with both of them through various projects over the coming years). Strangely it didn't actually feature any harmony singing - they just traded vocals from song to song instead. The songs were all covers, including fine interpretations of Bob Dylan's "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight", Hoagy Carmichael's "Georgia On My Mind", Jimmie Rodgers' "Prairie Lullaby", Memphis Minnie's "Me & My Chauffeur Blues" and Son House's "Death Letter Blues". Geoff's version of Ary Barroso's "Aquarela do Brasil" was years later used as the opening theme of the 1984 film Brazil.
|> Sweet Potatoes (1972)
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