Superlatives fail me...
Jim Stanko | Blairstown, NJ USA | 04/10/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"On a scale of 1 - 10, this album just plain runs way off of the scale! I'll say at the outset: you won't find anything even vaguely neutral in this review. Well, yes, you don't know me and I don't know you, so it's hard to know if you can trust me. But this CD is such an intoxicatingly profound statement of creativity, that I suggest you just take the gamble and LUNGE for it!OK, so I am an old-time fiddler, but I like a wide variety of music, and this collection has a broad base of appeal for anyone who likes acoustic music. The first tune is a fresh spin on a traditional tune: Sail Away Ladies. However Molly Tennenbaum's luscious banjo opening provides a tantalizing appetizer of what is to follow. By the time this tune melts into the first of Mark's creations, you'll be hooked. The compositions keep unfolding with a freshness and variety of rhythms that runs far afield of traditional music, and poses the dilemma of being clearly new yet always seeming almost familiar. It's truly an all-star cast of traditional musicians that blend into an extraordinarily fluid sound as different instruments weave in and out. Fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, piano, flute, and a variety of special sounds provide a tapestry that is complex, and yet never over powering. The melodies are intricate and well crafted with deft but unexpected twists and turns. Just as you think you've got it, a fresh variation emerges to delight you. The chord progressions provide a setting which is the sonic equivalent of a roller-coaster ride.Most of the tunes are strung together into medleys of two or three that seem to follow so approriately that they seem like movements of a symphony. Yet the dates in the liner notes make it clear that they were written at over a fairly wide period.When this CD is over, I always find myself going back to the beginning to hear it again. And now, I'm hooked on learning all the chords for guitar and working out the fiddle parts just for the pleasure of admiring the craftsmanship, as you would run your hand appreciatingly over the curves of a scupture in a museum (when the guard isn't looking).OK, I'll stop here. I sincerely hope you enjoy this as much as I do."
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1