"Even longtime followers of Shain from his days with Flyin' Mice and WAKE should be knocked out by the ambition of this great album of original tunes...Call it musical maturity, or an intangible intersection of solid tunes and solid musicianship; Fools and Fine Ladies marks a giant step for Jon Shain, from folky tunesmith to artist to be reckoned with." --David Potorti, The Independent, Durham, NC (May 2001) "Jon Shain's "Fools and Fine Ladies" is inspired by acoustic blues traditions, and both his voice and phrasing occasionally bring to mind the recordings of Dave Van Ronk...Shain and his bandmates are clearly in their element here, making music that has plenty of rootsy appeal." --Mike Joyce, Washington Post, Washington, DC (June 2001) "A fine North Carolina singer-songwriter steeped in Dylan and Delta blues, Shain returns to town with a new album, Fools and Fine Ladies. You can hear Jorma Kaukonen in his guitar playing but he's well on his way to carving out his own patch of Southern Americana." --Richard Gehr, The Village Voice, NY, NY (Oct. 2001) "Shain, an accomplished singer-guitarist in the Kaukonen-Hammond mold, and bandmates John Currie on dobro and FJ Ventre on bass, have established a group identity rooted in the Piedmont blues of North Carolina..." --Jerry Withrow, No Depression magazine (Nov. 2001) "Jon Shain, formerly of Flyin' Mice, continues to develop his solo career with his new disc, Fools and Fine Ladies, and a mighty fine disc it is. Shain's story-telling songs are enhanced by stark country folk-blues accompaniments." --Mick Skidmore, Relix magazine (Oct. 2001)