|
All I have to say is don't listen to that "phish fan / professional musician." His opinion is the most close-minded perspective I have ever heard. It's a good album, it's fun to listen to, it has it's fun, upbeat parts, and slow, serious parts. Basically it's a cd with songs that I could drift off to sleep to, and songs that I can rock out in my car to. Everyone that I know that is a true phish fan loves it, and I'm willing to bet Phish even likes it.
I am a long time Phish fan, and also a professional bluegrass musician, and I find these "Bluegrass tribute" records offensive. I'd be willing to bet these projects were not initiated by bluegrass musicians, and were instead dreamt up by the record company marketing department.Just from listening to the snippets on amazon you can tell that the transcriptions are not accurate, and pretty much suck the soul out of a lot of great compositions. It's disrespectful to Phish, and makes the world of bluegrass music look bad in the process.Save your money for a real Phish record, or a real bluegrass record. Maybe the record companies will catch on that its better to let the musicians make musical decisions rather than their marketing departments.
But, on the contrary, if you hate Phish but love Bluegrass, you may very well enjoy it. This album has gotten a lot of flak from Phish fans, "not enough jamming", "too much fiddle", etc. The instumental work, while not the best I've heard, is good and very musical, especially when played against Phish. You need to be aware that this is not a Phish album, it's a Bluegrass album covering Phish songs. If you don't like Bluegrass but love Phish, the album still might not be for you. It goes without saying that you'll love the album if you like Phish and Bluegrass. So konw what you're in for, but overall, it's a good buy.
Phish is Elevator Music and Circus music anyway. What the hell do you expect from a BLUEGRASS ALBUM.
It's not the most brilliantly creative repetory CD out, but fun for sure. you may have heard this disc lacks jamming. As far as the lack of jams, there's plenty of brief but energetic blowing. My opinion is, it's a very nice listen. I'm not really a Phan, so i probably have a more objective opinion than some. Remember what Charlie Parker said "Anything longer than 3 or 4 choruses and you're just practicing." If you like this, check out Tales from an Acoustic Planet 2 - the Bluegrass Sessions; Tales from an Acoustic Planet; or Live Art Bela Fleck (if you don't have them). PS - If you're into these "Cover" CD's, get Fareed Haque CD covering CSN+Y's classic Deja Vu.
|
