Search - Poi Dog Pondering :: Best Of: The Austin Years

Good acoustic stuff...

j. | 05/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Poi Dog Pondering have gone through numerous lineup changes over the years and subsequently, their sound has changed drastically over the past two decades. Their earliest work, which is represented on this disk, is very acoustic and folky, with heavy influence from world music. There are a lot of unconventional instruments, fiddles, accordians, whistles, hand drums. One could make a strong argument that the Poi Dog Pondering sound represented here played a vital role in Dave Matthews Band's early work, or at least had a hand in folky early 90s acoustic rock (Hootie and the Blowfish, Dave Matthews Band, etc.) being so widely accepted.



To be honest, the record company has collected the best songs from that particular phase of PDP, and left all the rest (which is, for the most part, disposable and unforgettable) off. This makes for quite a strong disc, even if the lead singer's voice gets a little tiresome at times.



One can only hope that Poi Dog Pondering will release another greatest hits, particularly of their more recent work. Their newer material is more funk and soul-oriented, with some songs being downright techno. But, as stated above, it's practically a different band now. The lead singer is the only face who remains from these formative years."