David Long hails from Pittsburgh, Pa. and says his mandolin influences are Frank Wakefield and Mike Compton. In 2001, he joined The Wildwood Valley Boys. He's also worked with Karl Shiflett's Big Country Show. Mike Compton is a native of Meridian, Miss. (Jimmie Rodgers' homeplace). In 1970, his first pro job was with Hubert Davis and the Season Travelers. From 1984-1988, Mike was an original member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band. He left the band after sustaining injury in a serious bus accident. In 1991, he recorded and toured with guitarist David Grier. In 1995, Compton joined Chris Jones' band, the Night Drivers. In 1996, he joined John Hartford's touring "String Band" and worked with him until his death in 2001. In 2000, Mike performed on the soundtrack to the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" movie and appeared on the Down from the Mountain tour and album. He was one of the "Soggy Bottom Boys." In 2001, Mike returned to the Nashville Bluegrass Band (replacing Roland White). 

 David Grisman refers to David Long and Mike Compton as "talented kindred spirits" who have chosen to use Bill Monroe's mandolin style as their springboard into both old and new, fertile territory. The musical tangents include some journeys into blues, ragtime, minstrelsy, gospel and old-time fiddle tunes. Four of the 17 pieces on this hour-long album are performed solo by Mike or David, while the rest are duets that use mandolin, mandola, guitar or octave mandola. Some of my favorite renderings are with Mike's octave mandola and David's mandolin. These include Ashland Breakdown and Big Indian Blues. 

While drawing heavily from a traditional and Monroe repertoire, the playful album also includes compositions from each of the featured artists, such as Compton's "Big Indian Blues" and "Black's Run" and Longs' "January Nightmare." Both collaborated to pen "Centipede Hop," and its humorous intro has the musicians telling how both of them wrote separate tunes with similar melodies, chords and tempos. We speculate that this tune was the ultimate result when both played their respective tunes together. Within the hour-long set, about 14 minutes have vocals. Mike sings solo on "How You Want it Done?" Three pieces have some nice duet vocals -- "Mississippi Bound," "Every Humble Knee Must Bow," and "The Old Ark's A Movin'." I would've enjoyed a few more vocals on the project, but one interesting contrast occurs on "Black's Run" with the octave banjo mandolin being Mike's instrument of choice. 

Recorded live to two tracks, their vision was to capture flavors of the southern music that Monroe might have listened to. I never tire of hearing Bill Monroe's originals, and the rest of the material on "Stomp" is just as exhilarating. Compton's title cut is an octave mandola solo with plenty of bluesy notes and downstrokes. Presented in raw-boned fashion, these tunes will help us better understand the roots of bluegrass. The album would also be a worthwhile investment for players of the eight strings who are looking for material to increase their repertoires. Without much guitar, and no banjo or fiddle, in the mix, "Stomp" is an interesting concept that establishes a likable groove with a maximum of 16 strings being picked at any one time. (Joe Ross)