Be Careful!
There's 8MB of LoS. There is no music on my CD. exe, but it won't play on my CD player. Perhaps a computer guru can figure it out, but I only wanted to listen to the music. So, be careful when considering to buy this CD.
It is what it is - their best studio release!
The band freely admits that this album doesn't have nearly as much of the "hippie yee haw factor" as prior releases, but that's to be expected with an effort like this - clearly dealing with the grief involved in losing Vann. LoS has always been right up front about this release - the fact is that it was HEAVILY influenced by both the death of their beloved founding member and close personal friend Mark Vann and the talents of the new members. One can imagine that the making of this album served as a catharsis for the band members.
If you're looking for a LoS cd to play for your next party in a field, pick any of their others - they're great for that! But it's just not what this one is about.
It's plenty passionate, it's just that the passion is fueled by grief rather than "party!" And, that's ok. One result is that the lyrics are the most mature, reflective, honest and heartfelt that LoS has ever done - with vocal deliveries to match. The musicianship, as always with LoS, is top notch (IMHO, Bill McKay's addition on keys is a step forward for the band). As such, this is one excellent album! It's the best studio release LoS has done and stands shoulder to shoulder with the best studio albums by any band (especially in the jam band realm) in recent years. I'll suggest it's every bit as good and enjoyable a listen as "Dither" by moe. , the ABB's "Hittin' The Note", SCI's "Outside Inside", Panic's "Ball" and Phish's "Undermind" - all of which are excellent in their own rights.
In a world where radio actually played good music, songs like "Woody Guthrie", "Delta Queen" and "Mountain Top" would've been hits.
For the reviewers who lament that this isn't as wild as the live SCI releases, I'll wholeheartedly agree. But comparing SCI's excellent "On the Road" series with a studio release by any band isn't a fair comparison. I will also counter by suggesting that SCI would kill to have made a studio album this good instead of the unimpressive "One Step Closer" (not to mention "Untying the Not". . . sheesh!).
Of the hundreds of cds in my collection, this one is absolutely in my top 10. Buy it!
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Feat Flavor maskes Salmon Sizzle!
Produced by Little Feat keyboardist and founder Bill Payne, he guests on every track lending his knowledge and expertise with arrangement and keys. The self-titled record by the longtime newgrass-revisionists has a jug-band take on a 4/4 with the aid of some Feat-flavor and a full-size drum set. Ethereal piano interludes mingle aloof with youngster Noam Pickelny's low-tuned banjo to give the record some serious soul. The first studio album for Leftover Salmon in five years, it reflects aptly their upstream ambition. Payne centers the band to help them stay focused and achieve thier true potential as musicians. The record is a highly-polished studio album that illustrates Leftover Salmon's fresh perspective of communal Rock & Roll. To the people will immediately question the record for not being the band's first album or a rare bootleg from a field somewhere; listen hard, this one is for you. Check out the band's website at www. lefoversalmon. com. All content copyright www. maximumink. com.
Great musicians, at home with practically any type of music
From my nwbluegrass reviewing friend, Mark Gensman:
Leftover Salmon is a band that has been around a while and has spent a huge amount of time touring and playing at such diverse venues as bluegrass festivals, folk festivals and rock and roll venues. and from the quality and variety of playing on this CD, it is easy to see how they can be successful anywhere they chose to play.
The band is a six piece group and there are only two guest artists on the CD. Bill Payne from the group Little Feat is the producer and sits in on piano and K. C. Groves adds harmony vocals to one tune. Other than that, the band plays all the parts and they are great players for sure.
The members are:
Drew Emmitt - Mandolin, fiddle, guitar, lead and harmony vocals
Greg Garrison - Acoustic and electric bass, lead and harmony vocals
Vince Herman - Acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocals
Jose Martinez - Drums and percussion
Bill McKay - Keyboards and vocals
Noam Pikelny - Banjo, acoustic guitar
First my only critical comments. I cannot understand how the packaging was allowed to be released to the public. The CD booklet is eight pages of nearly unreadable text. I had to get a magnifying glass to read some information and even then, I had the press release to correct what I thought was printed. Fonts that appear to be size six or less make the printing nearly unreadable.
The names of the songs are in a script that requires a major effort to discern and again, without the press release, I would not have known the proper name for one song because the script was simply unreadable.
But all is forgiven when the music starts. These guys are great musicians, obviously at home with practically any type and style of music and seem to have a great sense of the "assembly" on a song since they are all crafted with great care.
Down In The Hollow - The only tune I would suggest is related to bluegrass at all, but it is a great tune. . with one exception. I thought the liead singer (Drew Emmitt) was singing in a foreign language until I grabbed my magnifying glass and read the words. Very hard to understand, but a great
bluegrass feel to the tune.
Mountain Top - A great Cajun feel romp with subdued drums and some really nice keyboard work.
Delta Queen - A great blues tune. Reminded me of some of the tastier Super Tramp blues songs. Piano, electric bass, drums, electric guitar, and a very nicely done blues.
Lincoln At Nevada - Acoustic instrumental with some great chops. Drums, piano, electric bass, etc. and just a nice feel
Woody Guthrie - Medium ballad with good acoustic instrumental backup. The drums are tasty and there are great banjo and mandolin breaks.
Fayettevill Line - Based around a low tuned banjo with really nice drums mixed way back and nicely done.
Everything Is Round - Pretty much a nice Cajun rock and roll tune with a great acoustic bass part.
Whispering Waters - A really neat combination of a bluegrass feel with a rolling banjo that kicks along and then has a nice laid back center part with great organ and piano playing. A very nice song.
Last Days Of Autumn - An all electric medium tempo blues tune. Again, these guys show that they are capable of playing comfortably with just about any style.
Just Keep Walking - This is a straight ahead good old funky rock and roll tune. Very nicely done and I kept looking for the horn section to come in which would have made it a great cover of an old Bill Champlin recording. Full tilt rock. Drums, electric distorted guitars. . a good showcase for the band's rock and roll fans.
Weary Traveler - Very nice easy tune with nice acoustic guitar and mandolin. Again, the drums are subdued and the piano fits very nicely.
And the ending. . There is forty some seconds of silence after the last cut and then a snippet of Wildwood Flower that sounds like the Ventures in an echo chamber. . Very strange.
Musically the CD rates a 4. Again, the major complaint is the nearly unreadable package it comes
in. . other than that, I like this band a lot and it would be interesting to hear what they play at a bluegrass festival.
(Mark Gensman, Ground Zero Sound)
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Disappointing..
I've been a fan of LOS since I first saw them play the cramped Ballard Firehouse in Seattle in 94. I wholly agree w/Deadhead's assessment. I've gone to see them whenever they've come to Seattle since 94, and my enthusiasm for this uniquely talented band has slowly waned as they've continued to move away from the high-energy wholly unique jam music which had made them a must see. Each successive album is more bluegrass than the one before - no doubt the influence of Drew E. who is an obvious a fan of the pickin' and grinnin'. It is severely disappointing to see they've abandoned their roots as a jam band in favor of bluegrass obscurity.
Nothing against bluegrass, but this is like having to listen to Jimmy Hendrix play country-western. I too believe it is time to wave bye-bye to the glorious LOS jam band of the past. . Bluegrass'ers enjoy.
You can see a complete list of all Leftover Salmon discography, or go back to the Leftover Salmon tabs
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