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Is bluegrass influenced music making a comeback?
I don’t mean that bullshit that they try to
pass off at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. The
Yonder Mountain String band plays jam band music,
and if that is your thing, fine, just don’t
call it bluegrass. However, lately I have heard
more bands incorporating old-timey bluegrass into
a more modern sound.
An example of this, Dusty Rhodes and
the River Band, is surprisingly from
Orange County. You may recognize the OC as being
the locale for several terrible television shows
and a strange spot for over-privileged white kids
to play or listen to music laced with banjo, harmonica,
and accordion. Yet with the release of First
You Live, it has happened.
Before you get the wrong idea, Dusty Rhodes is
not strictly bluegrass. The intro and the title
song has multitude of instruments rising in intensity,
with a chorus of voices and single violin above
it all. It sounds like what I would imagine if
the Polyphonic Spree took on a darker, alt-country
bent.
Have you ever wondered what it would sound like
if Charlie Daniels had collaborated with Yes?
Me neither, but the song “Street Fighter”
would have undoubtedly been the result. It is
a surprising blend of extended prog-rock style
keyboards, fiddling, hard-core electric guitar
and vocals that are more shouted than sung. God
help me, it is actually pretty fucking awesome.
You have to have a lot of balls to make a song
like that these days, and talent to pull it off.
Song to song, First You Live meanders
through genres while maintaining a core feel.
All of the songs are filled with heart and the
joy of making music. Most tracks are hard not
to sing along with despite not knowing the words.
The six-piece band puts out a huge sound that
could make for a stupefying live show. After reading
the description and press release, I was not looking
forward to listening to another mediocre CD, but
Dusty Rhodes and the River band have put together
the most interesting and refreshing album I’ve
heard in a while.
myspace.com/dustyrhodes
Sideonedummy.com
-Ian Nelson, December 12, 2007
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