Hristmas Carols at King's

Considering the amount of quality music the ad hoc Canadian singer/songwriter "supergroup" has released under the Blackie & the Rodeo Kings moniker – five albums, including a double from 1996-2007 – this 14-song, 55-minute set should have used the extra 20 minutes of its CD playing time to better advantage. The trio – Colin Linden, Tom Wilson, and Stephen Fearing, all solo artists with well-regarded catalogs of their own – began life by covering the songs of journeyman Canadian songwriter Willie P. Bennett before expanding into original material…

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings started out as a project in which three singer/songwriters – Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson – got together to pay homage to a friend and colleague, and as good as they are together, BARK are a band that cherish their sense of democracy so much that no one ever seems like the leader…

Blackie and the Rodeo Kings are a band perfectly willing to wear their enthusiasm on their collective sleeve. After all, the project that brought Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson together and gave them their group name was a tribute to Canadian singer/songwriter Willie P. Bennett, and they've never been hesitant to cover songwriters they look up to or bring in guest artists they admire…

The second batch of songs recorded by Blackie & the Rodeo Kings (BARK to the group's fans) at the Bearsville sessions that yielded Let's Frolic is a looser, less structured affair. Far from leftovers, these 14 cuts have a similar feel to the music of the Dylan/Band Basement Tapes – a little rough around the edges but played with undeniable joy and enthusiasm that comes from the participants letting their guards down as the tape rolls…

Canadian singer/songwriter/guitarists Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden, and Tom Wilson all have successful solo careers, but sporadically put their individual projects on hold to record under the Blackie moniker. This album, the occasional band's fourth, comes only a few years following 2004's Bark, yet finds the trio – backed by a quartet of similarly talented musicians on bass, drums, and keyboards – in terrific form…

Blackie & the Rodeo Kings are a Canadian songwriter's "supergroup," comprised of Colin Linden (who doubles as a guitarist in Bruce Cockburn's band), Stephen Fearing, and Tom Wilson. They may have begun as a garage band to record and perform the songs of obscure Canadian outsider songwriter Willie P. Bennett, but they've evolved into a unit that is akin to the legendary Rockpile in their approach to rootsy, rollicking, hooky pop/rock and country…