de Volkskrant

Where Mississippi and Ohio Rivers merge into one powerful river lies Cairo. Its days as an important traffic junction have been eroded by time; now it is a dusty borough where racism still slumbers. The eleven songs, which together form Greetings from Cairo, bring the history of the city to life. Songwriter Stace England tells about lynchings, the past glory of the steamboats and economic decline. The intelligent and swinging song cycle opens with two real Cairo classics, Goin' Down to Cairo and Cairo blues. The first is a folksong from the nineteenth century; the second is by bluesman Henry Spaulding and dates from 1929. All other numbers are by England himself. He has been helped in the production by an army of friends, which makes this album a picture postcard with many alternating styles.