Audio CD review:
Widespread Panic - Don't Tell the Band [Digipak]

Widespread Panic - Don't Tell the Band [Digipak]

Band: Widespread Panic Title: Don't Tell the Band [Digipak] Rating: Release Date: 19 June, 2001 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Little Lilly 2: Give 3: Imitation Leather Shoes 4: This Part Of Town 5: Sometimes 6: Thought Sausage 7: Down 8: Big Wooly Mammoth/Tears Of A Woman 9: Case Del Grillo 10: Old Joe 11: Action Man 12: Don't Tell The Band

Editoral Review But that sense was hardly reactionary; indeed, WP's musical utopianism seems to have gleaned as much from alt-rock as the Allmans, infusing this 2001 collection with a bracing sense of adventure. While large parts of their generation were trashing blues-based rock and searching for alternatives, Georgia's Widespread Panic eagerly picked up where the Dead and a generation of other improv-driven musicians left off. Their seventh album encompasses the stylistic diversity longtime fans have come to expect, with that diversity now underscored by the walloping hard-rock edge on "Give," "Imitation Leather Shoes," and "Action Man. " With vocalist John Bell's expressive, character-rich voice evoking spirits as diverse as Steve Miller, James Hetfield, and Eddie Vedder, the band's tales of jaundiced romance and bleary-eyed life are ensconced in dreamy piano ballads ("This Part of Town"), neo-psych funk ("Thought Sausage"), and even rootsy Nashville-meets-Memphis novelty ("Big Wooly Mammoth"). Tellingly, WP infuse their cover of alt-rock pioneers Firehose's "Sometimes" with an infectious, Miller-esque pop groove that further highlights their sense of musical team play. --Jerry McCulley .. You can see a complete list of all Widespread Panic discography, or go back to the Widespread Panic tabs