Search - Chris Thile :: Deceiver

An Album with Guts

Denise | Philadelphia, PA | 10/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I couldn't say it any better myself than Chris did in Acoustic Guitar Magazine's February issue: "My favorite records are the ones I have to really dig through before I feel acquainted with and happy with the experience. Our deepest listening experiences are when we're really familiar with something and yet still discovering. Like a great conversation with somebody you know inside and out but then you find something new about them. I wanted to make a record that would have interesting enough layers to dig that deep. And that's why the record's so short. I want people to put it back on and give it a chance, because there's a lot going on. I'd like to sit everyone who buys it down in my living room and walk them through the entire record, going, 'Yeah, I know that's weird, but here's why I think it's OK for it to be weird.'"



I know that at first when a lot of Chris Thile fans listen to the CD, they might feel a sense of shock. There are parts where Chris just rocks out HARD and people have to stop and take a double take: "What? Is that the same guy from Nickel Creek?" I am aware that some fans get so disoriented by this that they give the album a total thumbs down. I find that unfortunate, presumptuous, and judgemental.



Allow the album to be an onion to you. Trust me, it is definitely worth peeling away the layers. I know at first it may seem like you have no idea what he's trying to do, but if you sit down, read the lyrics, and listen to the songs -- you'll find that Chris' talents really do manifest in ways that are fresh, new, and different than any other artist you know. Chris has always been about paying respect to other genres in exchange for the creation of something completely his own.



But I beg you. Before you go around saying this is the worst thing you've heard, give it a fair chance. The lyrics for each of these songs are incredible, full of depth, and startlingly profound. I cannot believe Chris learned how to play ALL those instruments by himself and was able to compose music with sounds so cohesive, creative, and mind-boggling.



Acquaint yourselves with his songs and get to know them. Chris worked very hard for this album and I know it means a lot to him to have fans appreciate his work and to let him know that even though it's not the kind of stuff that would ever hit mainstream, he's still got the talent and the guts.



That's what I love about all these songs on this CD. They are so brutally honest, so exposing, and so brave. He just poured his entire soul into this, and it really paid off.



Give it a listen. I promise you'll learn to love every bit of it."

Not for Radio Ears

W. Allyn | Oklahoma City, Ok United States | 02/16/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album blows me away. This is NOT the kind of music you'll hear on the radio so if you're looking for mainstream, you won't find it in the genuine and honest melodies that come from Chris's mandolin, voice, heart. I've admired his work with Nickel Creek, there's no denying the talent of musicianship but this album goes much deeper than knowing how to play, this album plays like a shakespearean novellette. Please just put this on and give it several times listening before rushing to conclusions. These lyrics, melodies deserve an innocent listen, a virgin ear will easily see masterpiece. The radio-trained listener will probably not get it at all. This is one my favorite new finds this year. Thank you Chris for being brave enough to travel within and take your listeners on this wonderful journey with you."

No, it's not Bill Monroe

D. Flannery | Appleton, WI | 02/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"And it's not Alison Krauss, either. It's a guy with more talent in his REM sleep than the rest of us on a heavy caffeine (or choose your own pharmaceutical reference) buzz.

I bought "Deceiver" at Barnes/Noble at the same time I bought a Merle Haggard box set ("Down Every Road"), so that might tell you a little of where I'm coming from on this. I adore the alleged classic songs of the masters, but I also appreciate the journeys they take along their careers.

"Deceiver" is one of the paths Chris Thile has chosen. Accept it for what it is. Don't assume that because you've bought and heard the previous Thile/Watkins/NC works, that this will be identical. In fact, if it were identical, it would be ripped for being the same stuff, and Thile would be ripped for lacking imagination.

Listen, this guy lives on a different planet than the rest of us. Don't assume that everything he does will be a extension of Bill Monroe or Ronnie McCoury or Sam Bush or David Grisman. He's above and beyond that calling.

Like a lot of the folks who have reviewed "Deceiver" here, I too had a little trouble making it through the CD the first few times. The first words I muttered were "experimental" and "self-indulgent." But so what. I muttered the same two words about Loretta Lynn's "Van Lear Rose" the first five times I heard that, too, and now, I've come to appreciate it as being reflective of who she is at this moment of her life.

Same with Thile. This is who he is now. Not the same guy he was at 16, and probably not the same guy he'll be at 37. And since those first few run-throughs of "Deceiver," I have heard the damn thing another 245,337 times (that approximate).

Is "Deceiver" experimental? Absolutely. But, by the same token, could any of the mind-warping solos that he plays on the NC treatments of traditional bluegrass pieces be considered experimental? Definitely.

He ain't your father's mandolinist. Or guitarist. Or bassist. Or vocalist. Etc., etc.

Don't be offended because Thile didn't slide his versions of "Molly and Tenbrooks" or "Uncle Pen" on this CD. But at the same time, don't think for a second that he's forgotten his bluegrass roots. He just chooses to extrapolate them onto other genres.

That's not a bad thing. It's what a lot of legendary artists have done through the milleniums.

Music is all about expressing who you are and what you're feeling. If you wanted Chris Thile to produce just another mandolin album (even as stunning as his are) or just another bluegrass album (even as innovative and introspective as NC has been), well ... he's been there and done that. And if you want more, there are plenty of bluegrass CDs by The Seldom Scene, New Grass Revival, Flatt and Scruggs, Rhonda Vincent and others filling the bargain bin at your local music store or online.

But to get down on Chris Thile for this? I don't get it.

This guy just does not play by the same rules, and he doesn't have to. But you can, if you like. Be happy there.

I'll listen to Chris Thile."