Alex Martin - Mr Plummer, Preacher Dan, and the Moonshiners (Philo Speaks)

5. Mr Plummer, Preacher Dan, and the Moonshiners (Philo Speaks)
This trilogy of character sketches by Philo is, with the title track, for me the most joyful song on the album. Philo tells us first about an extraordinarily skilled African American mechanic and inventor, who “musta been a wizard,” then about a preacher who didn’t suffer fools or hypocrites (though he might cause them to suffer, with a solid left hook). The final story is about Philo himself, running moonshine in the 1930s with his friend Rob Heneger. Philo wishes that these “unusual types” had come to the attention of Sherwood Anderson, perhaps the most famous American short story writer of the early 20th century, who late in life moved to nearby Marion, VA, and started a newspaper. Will again provides the vocal, and Tom Espinola joins the fun on mandolin.