Sound Signature Sounds [Import]

Sound Signature Sounds [Import]

Track Listings

1. Moonlite

2. Ebonics

3. Dan Ryan

4. Lake Shore Drive

5. Took Me All The Way Back

6. Music Pt.1

7. Dusty Cabinets

8. Overhead

9. African Roots

10. Carpet People

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese Exclusive Compilation Including Tracks from Vinyl Only Singles Released in the Past.

Tracks:

Can't You Hear Me Callin'
Little Sadie
New Railroad
Oxford Town/Cumberland Gap
Lone Pilgram
Come On In My Kitchen
Ain't No Grave
Ecstasy
Mountain Jumper
Railroad Bill
Wind And Rain

Amazon.com

Like Nickel Creek and the Duhks (and Alison Krauss and Union Station before them), Crooked Still employ bluegrass elements as a springboard for an eclectic, expansive dynamic. Behind the sweetly ethereal and occasionally jazzy vocals of Aoife O' Donovan, the interplay of Gregory Liszt's banjo, Rushad Eggleston's cello (both bowed and flatpicked), and Corey DiMario's double bass gives the young New England band a sound that is closer to chamber-grass than hoedown. Though none of the material on this label debut is original, the transformations typically are, with the murder balladry of "Little Sadie" given a surprisingly sprightly reading, Bob Dylan's early "Oxford Town" taken at double-time speed, and Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen" sounding more meditative than bluesy. The band and veteran producer Lee Townsend enlist a number of guests for harmony and instrumental support, but it's plain that the drummerless quartet has the talent and musical vision to deliver on this album's considerable promise. --Don McLeese

Customer Reviews:

Not Your Father's Bluegrass.......2007-07-23

My wife and I had never heard of Crooked Still when they opened for Chris Smither last fall at The Birchmere, in Alexandria, Virginia. So when someone at our table said that they were "a bluegrass band," we were a little disappointed, not really being bluegrass fans. Well, these four musicians are not your father's bluegrass band. (We got a hint of this even before they started to play, when, during set-up, Rushad Eggleston, their cellist, came out to tune his cello. Dressed in a flashy red-white-and-blue rodeo shirt, wearing a coonskin cap, and with a vaguely wild look in his eyes, Eggleston tuned his instument, tested the sound, and then, before returning backstage, gently kissed his cello before laying it in its stand.) From the first tune to the last, Crooked Still just blew us - and everyone else in the place - away. Imagine traditional "bluegrass" music rethought, infused with true passion and soul, and performed by a group of consummate young musicians with an authentic artistic sensibility, and you pretty much have Crooked Still. I cannot recommend this CD - or their first, "Hop High" - highly enough. If you're a fan of acoustic music, you should also seek out a live performance by these musicians. (Seeing firsthand the energy with which Rushad Eggleston plays his cello is, alone, worth the price of admission.)

hauntingly beautiful.......2007-05-14

my wife and i heard aoife o'donovan a couple of times when she was one of the singers with wayfaring strangers. when we were perusing the concert schedule at the somerville theatre my wife recognized her name as the vocalist for the band crooked still. we decided to give it a try but we weren't sure what to expect. within the first 10 seconds of the concert i was in love with the group. we travelled over to vermont later that month to hear them again and then travelled down to club passim in cambridge a couple of months later for a tuesday 10 o'clock at night concert to try out new material. we're going to see them again in july. i've bought four copies of each of their cd's, one copy for us and the others for friends. i am thinking of rewriting my will and leaving everything to aoife if she will sing at my funeral.

i really like wayfaring strangers and have lent my wayfaring strangers cd's to friends and relatives. hardly anyone cares for them as much as i do and i understand that it can take some getting used to. crooked still is not like that. it is so accessible that i think just about anyone would like it and some people will love it.

Shaken By A Low Sound .......2007-05-13

Great CD, I bought it after hearing then in concert!!

Solid follow-up to "Hop High", but with a muted edge.......2007-05-10

So, what do you get when you combine a lead singer with an airy, sultry, velvety smooth voice, a rocking double bass, a banjo player that actually earned his Ph.D. from MIT, and a cellist that's totally bonkers? You get Crooked Still, a band who's unique style of bluegrass music is turning heads wherever they play. I had the fortune of stumbling across these guys at Merlefest and I was hooked from the first song. Their style of music is generally referred to as "Alternative Bluegrass"; basically, they take a traditional song, break it down, and then add their own unique rhythm and melody. These guys take a _very_ creative approach to bluegrass/American folk music (for example, flat-picking a cello), and if your listening habits tend towards the more traditional approach, this may not be the band for you. As good as they are, I'm hoping at some point they will start creating some original material. Also, as many have noted, their second album "Shaken by a low sound" lacks the freshness and edge of both their first album and the live performances of the songs on the album--though that may reflect the influence of the label rather than a conscious decision by the band. Bottom line: if you can only purchase one Crooked Still album, get the first one, "Hop High". If you get a chance to see this band live, do so. You won't be disappointed.

The Madman of the Cello!.......2007-02-27

This record is fine...wonderful, in fact. The band (a cello-bass-banjo power trio!) combines a profound understanding of the "trad" repertoire with hot chops and a hot chick singer with a breathy-but-tasteful delivery. BUT GO SEE THIS BAND LIVE!! I have just returned from Wintergrass and feel safe in saying that I have seen the future (of something or other) and his name is Rushad Eggleston, virtuoso madman. Rushad is evolving into a major force and, in addition his magical cello, he has--for lack of a better word--a schtick you have to see to believe. He is the Jimi-Django of this fabulous aggregation. GO SEE HIM BEFORE HE EXPLODES. Holy, holy bejesus!