First impressions definitely make a difference!
N. Johnston | Music City, TN USA | 01/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"When I first discovered Widespread Panic back in 2001, this was the album I listened to. I was blown away with the first and second tracks, "Surprise Valley" and "Bear Gone Fishin'". It just got better and better as the album went on. Panic might take some cues from their rock n' roll predecessors, the Grateful Dead, Allman Bros. and Talking Heads, etc., but they mix it up into a sound that's all their own. After putting this album on repeat for about a month, I finally got to see them live for the first time in Jackson, MS. I was so impressed with them that I went to the next show in Little Rock, AR and I've been addicted ever since! These boys know how to make music from their hearts and souls(which is rare in this Brittney Spears plastic world)!! Some may say this type of music draws the "neo-hippie" crowd. All I know is that you meet some of best and kindest people in the world at WSP shows. Cheers to friends so near!!"
Southern Fried Comfort Music
Drifting Along | 05/23/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After nearly ten years of listening to "Til the Medicine Takes," I still have to say, "amazing" to this deeply involving studio gem by Panic. Sure, they are supposed to be a live act, but their studio efforts really showcase their compositions as densely layered and complex, leading to deeply involving listening sessions, from which you emerge feeling transported plateaus from where you began--a true meditation of inner space. But, you need a high-end audio system to resolve the many instumental tracks laid down on "Medicine," or else it comes off as muddy and fatiguing. I think that is why so many like their live albums, which present a more basic sound that is playable on any system. A live production is forgiven for its loose, sloppy mood, crowd noise, strung out jams, etc. Problem is, the band sounds drunk on live productions compared to their artistic brilliance on studio efforts, and one would say, "they should, because they can record until it is perfect," which is why I love this brilliant album, and I am not sure where all this fan criticism comes from. "Weekend hippies" or not, Panic's lyrics attract folks who relate to their earthy, down-home messages. "Mama talkin' the water," "like a fresh-skipped stone," "bringin' you the morning sun," "he may not be a toker, but he always knows what's goin' on," etc evoke feelings of the divinity of nature and our place in it as a holy experience. At age 58, I have been at a lot of shows going back decades--not to say I have heard it all, but, I hold Panic right up there with all the jam legends."