"Red Clay Ramblers, Chuckin' the Frizz -- Any true Ramblers fan knows that this all-too-rare release marks the band's finest hour on record, a well-produced live recording of the rollicking 1979 lineup performing at the old, tinier Cat's Cradle. This is a superior string band at the height of its powers, spinning out traditionals and originals with inspired, infectious fervor."

"In the late '60s and early '70s, there was an area revival in old-time music, which brought fiddling and bluegrass traditions down from the Appalachian mountains. The Hollow Rock String Band formed at the Hollow Rock store between Durham and Chapel Hill; the Fuzzy Mountain String Band followed shortly thereafter. In 1972, banjo master Tommy Thompson and two others (Jim Watson and Bill Hicks) formed the Red Clay Ramblers, a legendary string band that mixed traditional and contemporary compositions for heel-stomping, toe-tapping national success (they even took their show to Broadway). Still around in various incarnations, individual members of the "Blurs," (a fan nickname for the Ramblers) have gone on to dozens of side projects and, in the process, have created a fearsome and thriving scene in and of themselves."