AL DUVALL
Born June 31, 1877 in Pahrump, West Virginia, Algernon Otmer Duvall began
his musical career on the vaudeville stage as end-man in Lew Dockstader's
Minstrels. He fought in a bicycle squadron in Ypres during World War I,
where he received a crippling dose of the Hun's mustard. Returning home,
he made ends meet working at a sausage factory in Harrington Delaware from
1921 until 1989. He took up the banjo in 1991 as physical therapy for his
pleurisy. He went on to master the alto kazoo at the age of 118. "Al"
Duvall attributes his remarkable longevity to a daily dram of Hamlin's Quinsy
Balsam.
DISOGRAPHY.
 AL DUVALL : RECLUSES UNITE (2008) CD.1.Where The Comet Falls 2.Bareknuckle Ballerina 3.O! Anomia 4.The Gals in the Chorus 5.Slick Hamtree 6.Penny For Your Thoughts 7.Handsome Pete's Last Ride 8.Dark Inside 9.Me, Myself & You 10.The Statue of Virtue 11.Welfare Island 12.The Wreck of the General Slocum 13.I Married A Milliner 14.(We're) The Marathon Dance Band 15.Poor Carrie Anne 16.The Busker 17.Skowhegan REVIEWS. "Al Duvall’s Recluses Unite…appears to be an attempt at a Tiny Tim revival, as Brooklyn-based songster Duvall picks up his banjo and sings 17 songs which are freakish pastiches of Edwardian, Music-Hall and early country songs (the sort of material for which Tiny Tim had genuine affection, and he included a vast cache of near-forgotten material in his repertoire). Even the CD label is printed to look like an old 78 disc. Al Duvall’s variant on these genres is to add a slightly more salacious and disreputable streak to these songs with his inventively twisted black-comedy lyrics, throwing in dirty punchlines and shades of modern depravity that our Edwardian ancestors would have blanched at. There’s also however an equally strong streak of utter weirdness and lowbrow surrealism, not too far away from the malarkey of Charles Gocher or Revd Fred Lane. When delivered in Duvall’s deadpan singing voice, this tends to leave a very odd taste in the mouth." - Ed Pinsent, Sound Projector. |
AL DUVALL : THE TIMID MISCHIEF: CD (2006).REVIEWS:
"When listening to Al Duvall’s 2006 release ‘The Timid Mischief or Oh Anomia’ one thing becomes abundantly clear, the Vaudeville and Americana styles which can only be properly captured with the banjo of old are alive and well. Al’s a card shuffler on this record, he rolls through his songs, stacking the deck, serving drinks, and peppering the atmosphere with his own brand of old time undertones. It’s witty folk music with a snap, the equivalent of sipping off the last bottle of Kentucky bourbon. The originality of his sound in these modern times is a taste that should be acquired, and unlike Kentucky bourbon it leaves no bitter aftertaste. The lyrics have a wonderful twist of dark humor intermingled with the topics that take you from general observations to stories from the old days. Take the sixth track for example, ‘Labias & Genitalman’ he sings “…he chews on mothballs to purify his breath, She’s the lily of the valley of the shadow of death, I shall perform the aforementioned vice, Until hell freezes over, Then I’ll do it on ice…”. In fact his lyrics strike with all of the bravado of a Tom Waits album, but with a twinge of the old Vaudeville stage thrown in for good measure. The longer the album goes on you realize that you’re listening to something that is as rare treat as one can find in music today. A soothing, but potent mixture of old sounds and new ideas. His voice makes the most impact, a slick water voice that seems to croon to the heavens. No matter if he’s singing about grifting in Milwaukee or skinning squirrels, you’ll enjoy this album." - folkitup.
