| CD Review |
|
|
 |
Northern California Bluegrass Society provides this CD review. You can find our most current reviews on our Message Board, where you can comment or query the author directly. Our monthly magazine, Bluegrass By the Bay also publishes them. Return to CD Reviews. |
|
| Strung Over | Avocado Shakedown |
| Review by Brenda Hough | |
|
Songs: Rainy Eyes Carolina Moon She Used To Be Mine Buzzard's Roost Call Me From High Father's Farewell Jar Jar's Dream Another Saturday Night Avocado Shakedown Out on the Water Not Through Lovin' You Bonny Doon Angeline Malone Bittersweet Blue |
|
|
There's an avocado with strings on the cover of Strung Over's new CD, and after seeing Jason Lampel's guacamole recipe in the notes, I thought how this band has qualities of the best guacamole. There's lots of smooth music with bits of garlic and pepper to spice things up and make you take notice. The songs are all band originals, and the group has a great mix of vocals and instrumentals. Jason Lampel's banjo playing has wonderful melodic riffs that blend easily with brother Jeremy's flowing mandolin cascades of sound. The title song, "Avocado Shakedown" starts with some fast-paced banjo joined by Michael Thurman's guitar leads and Jeremy's banjo until all three instruments are joined together in melodies reminiscent of some of the Flatt and Scruggs breakdowns. The whimsically named "Jar Jar's Dream" has some of the bouncy energy of the Star Wars character. Rob Ickes adds some fine dobro work to two of the instrumentals, "Grass Monkey" and "Buzzard's Roost." If the band just did instrumentals, there would be enough to applaud, but the vocals are also first-rate. Michael Thurman has written 6 of the songs and his engaging voice is joined by Laurie Lewis' harmonies and fiddle on "Rainy Eyes" and "She Used To Be Mine." His "Call Me From High" is a fast-tempo bluegrass song and "Rainy Eyes" is a softer love song with Jason and Jeremy adding banjo and mandolin undercurrents that add to the mood of the song. "Out on the Water" is a song about boats and water and the band's vocal harmonies and bouncy instrumentation add to the fun. Bassist Hugh Broughton provides the steady underpinings for the band's sound and he contributes a home place tribute in "Carolina Moon" and "Not Through Loving You," a song that has echoes of popular bluegrass songs like "Love, Please Come Home." The band has a great contemporary sound and has a polished performance that should gain them some national attention. Great stuff! Pass the chips.... |
|
| Additions or comments: admin@scbs.org | |