Mike Poore
11-29-2006, 04:35 PM
I've been singing the praises of Nickel Creek, and especially Chris Thele, the virtuoso Mandolin player for some time now. I just downloaded the album: Not All Who Wander Are Lost. The musicians contributing to this work are a who's who in the contemporary acoustic scene. I highly recommend it. You can sample cuts on Amazon; but I bought and downloaded all 12 cuts for $10 on Dell Jukebox.
Here's a review:
Set free from the bluegrass and folk conventions of Nickel Creek (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/192918/${0}), Generation X's most prodigious mandolinist doesn't so much stretch out as explode. Yes, the barely legal Thile is surrounded by the most dominant players in acoustic music--Stuart Duncan (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/34809/${0}), Béla Fleck (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/31072/${0}), Edgar Meyer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/40711/${0}), Jerry Douglas (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/34749/${0}), and Bryan Sutton (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/198926/${0})--but this 12-song suite of "newgrass," Celtic, and old-timey instrumentals has Thile's searing stamp all over it. His lyrical, almost liquid style, even on the hottest seven-minute jams, accents melodic continuity over attack, intricate counterpoint over frenetic collision. And his compositions, as open-ended as post-bop jazz and as jiggy as a sweaty contra dance, inspire these genuinely great musicians to performances both refreshing and profound. --Roy Kasten
Here's a review:
Set free from the bluegrass and folk conventions of Nickel Creek (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/192918/${0}), Generation X's most prodigious mandolinist doesn't so much stretch out as explode. Yes, the barely legal Thile is surrounded by the most dominant players in acoustic music--Stuart Duncan (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/34809/${0}), Béla Fleck (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/31072/${0}), Edgar Meyer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/40711/${0}), Jerry Douglas (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/34749/${0}), and Bryan Sutton (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ts/artist-glance/198926/${0})--but this 12-song suite of "newgrass," Celtic, and old-timey instrumentals has Thile's searing stamp all over it. His lyrical, almost liquid style, even on the hottest seven-minute jams, accents melodic continuity over attack, intricate counterpoint over frenetic collision. And his compositions, as open-ended as post-bop jazz and as jiggy as a sweaty contra dance, inspire these genuinely great musicians to performances both refreshing and profound. --Roy Kasten