Leftover Salmon

Leftover Salmon | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 23, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Compendia
• ASIN: B0001CNQ5I
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,448 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #46 in Music > Rock > Jam Bands > Bluegrass Jam Bands

Track Listings

1. Down In The Hollow

2. Mountain Top

3. Delta Queen

4. Lincoln At Nevada (Instrumental)

5. Woody Guthrie

6. Fayetteville Line

7. Everything Is Round

8. Whispering Waters

9. Last Days Of Autumn

10. Just Keep Walkin

11. Weary Traveler

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

On their self-titled sixth album, Leftover Salmon strip away the more eclectic elements of their "polyethnic Cajun slamgrass" and come up with a simpler but soulful sound rooted in both bluegrass and the blues. Drew Emmitt's vocals on songs like "Down in the Hollow" and "Weary Traveler" have a genuine high, lonesome twang that wouldn't sound out of place in a traditional bluegrass band, while his sound on bluesier numbers like "Last Days of Autumn" has an engaging laid-back feel. But even though the group is performing more traditionally structured songs instead of loosely organized jams, there are still plenty of opportunities for the group to exhibit the instrumental virtuosity that has made them favorites on the jam-band circuit. Newcomer Noam Pikelny is a blazing banjo picker in the Béla Fleck mode, and every time he breaks into a solo the energy level kicks up a notch. Leftover Salmon's new take on traditional styles has more than enough imagination to keep fans of the band's older, more freewheeling style happy, even as the more disciplined performances attract new ones into the fold. --Michael John Simmons

Product Description

In the tradition of such legendary bands as the Grateful Dead, Phish and "newgrass" ground breakers New Grass Revival. Leftover Salmon blends rootsy rock and bluegrass instrumentation / vocals with innovative "jam"-influences arrangements – making them wildly popular on today’s jam band circuit.

Produced by Little Feat’s Bill Payne, Leftover Salmon is the band’s first studio album of new material in five years, and features the same smooth, searing vocals, cutting-edge musicianship and genre-bending acoustic / electric music blend that fans clamor for in live performance.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really good, ...but..., April 12, 2004

By 

Richard D. Hodgson (Madera, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leftover Salmon (Audio CD)

If this album was released by anyone else, I'd say that it was great. The songs are good and the musicianship is excellent. But, with all due respect, these guys can do better. Let's face it, Leftover Salmon is a jam band. And like The Dead or other contemporaries such as The String Cheese Incident, they are at their best when live. That's not to say that they can't play well in the studio-- unlike some of their fans, I liked "Euphoria". And I like this album, too. It's just that compared to their live material, it sounds kind of, I dunno,...restrained. I keep waiting for them to really let go and kick out the jams-- but they never really do. Perhaps they're trying to appeal to a more musically conservative audience. And if it gets the proper exposure, they very well may. But I fear that this album will not strongly endear itself to their hard-core fanbase.

Part of the problem may be that it was produced by Bill Payne of Little Feat. At times it sounds almost like they're trying to emulate them, but hey, they're not Little Feat, they're L.O.S! That's not a criticism of either band, just a statement of fact. They should stick to what they do best, which is party down and play their tails off!

I love this band, and I don't want to be too hard on this album-- I like it, I really do. It's just that... Well, let's just say it ain't "Ask The Fish". I'm still waiting for a live double-disc of that calibre. Maybe next time?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Team Salmon Does Not Disappoint with latest Album!!, May 24, 2004

By 

JM (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leftover Salmon (Audio CD)

I have been a fan of these guys ever since I moved to Colorado in 1999. I've seen numerous shows and have always enjoyed their studio and live album efforts like "Ask the fish" and "Euphoria". The "Nashville Sessions" is similarly amazing. I am proud to announce that with their latest addition, "Leftover Salmon", the boys have proven once again that they are still so damn good!!

The sound is not the same with the new additions to to the school but its pleaseant none the less. I will admit that the band sounds a lot more like SCI now than they used to. I assert this simply as a reference point for somebody who may not be familiar with Leftover Salmon.

I found the new banjo player to be quite good and proof of this is his work on the song "Whispering Waters" (my personal favorite) and the instrumental "Lincoln at Nevada". Looking forward to hearing him live soon. The organ player also adds a whole other groove layer that was never there before.

The band still flows with the same positive energy they have always shown although it has become more focused on this album. The band has always been socially/ecologically aware and this shows through best on the new album with "Everything's round".

This album is truly a gift of pure delight for salmon fans past and present and it shouldn't disapoint even the oldest of fans. I would highly recommend it to anybody who likes melodic, lyrical jamgrass.

Oh and I think the review by "Deadhead" couldn't be more weak. Nobody wants to hear about your "old days keepin' the band afloat". Give me a break. This band has grown and the result is simply splendid. Stay on that "SCI Bus" buddy...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great musicians, at home with practically any type of music, August 8, 2004

By 

J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leftover Salmon (Audio CD)

From my nwbluegrass reviewing friend, Mark Gensman:

Leftover Salmon is a band that has been around a while and has spent a huge amount of time touring and playing at such diverse venues as bluegrass festivals, folk festivals and rock and roll venues..and from the quality and variety of playing on this CD, it is easy to see how they can be successful anywhere they chose to play.

The band is a six piece group and there are only two guest artists on the CD. Bill Payne from the group Little Feat is the producer and sits in on piano and K.C. Groves adds harmony vocals to one tune. Other than that, the band plays all the parts and they are great players for sure.

The members are:
Drew Emmitt - Mandolin, fiddle, guitar, lead and harmony vocals
Greg Garrison - Acoustic and electric bass, lead and harmony vocals
Vince Herman - Acoustic guitar, lead and harmony vocals
Jose Martinez - Drums and percussion
Bill McKay - Keyboards and vocals
Noam Pikelny - Banjo, acoustic guitar

First my only critical comments. I cannot understand how the packaging was allowed to be released to the public. The CD booklet is eight pages of nearly unreadable text. I had to get a magnifying glass to read some information and even then, I had the press release to correct what I thought was printed. Fonts that appear to be size six or less make the printing nearly unreadable.

The names of the songs are in a script that requires a major effort to discern and again, without the press release, I would not have known the proper name for one song because the script was simply unreadable.

But all is forgiven when the music starts. These guys are great musicians, obviously at home with practically any type and style of music and seem to have a great sense of the "assembly" on a song since they are all crafted with great care.

Down In The Hollow - The only tune I would suggest is related to bluegrass at all, but it is a great tune..with one exception. I thought the liead singer (Drew Emmitt) was singing in a foreign language until I grabbed my magnifying glass and read the words. Very hard to understand, but a great
bluegrass feel to the tune.

Mountain Top - A great Cajun feel romp with subdued drums and some really nice keyboard work.

Delta Queen - A great blues tune. Reminded me of some of the tastier Super Tramp blues songs. Piano, electric bass, drums, electric guitar, and a very nicely done blues.

Lincoln At Nevada - Acoustic instrumental with some great chops. Drums, piano, electric bass, etc. and just a nice feel

Woody Guthrie - Medium ballad with good acoustic instrumental backup. The drums are tasty and there are great banjo and mandolin breaks.

Fayettevill Line - Based around a low tuned banjo with really nice drums mixed way back and nicely done.

Everything Is Round - Pretty much a nice Cajun rock and roll tune with a great acoustic bass part.

Whispering Waters - A really neat combination of a bluegrass feel with a rolling banjo that kicks along and then has a nice laid back center part with great organ and piano playing. A very nice song.

Last Days Of Autumn - An all electric medium tempo blues tune. Again, these guys show that they are capable of playing comfortably with just about any style.

Just Keep Walking - This is a straight ahead good old funky rock and roll tune. Very nicely done and I kept looking for the horn section to come in which would have made it a great cover of an old Bill Champlin recording. Full tilt rock. Drums, electric distorted guitars..a good showcase for the band's rock and roll fans.

Weary Traveler - Very nice easy tune with nice acoustic guitar and mandolin. Again, the drums are subdued and the piano fits very nicely.

And the ending.. There is forty some seconds of silence after the last cut and then a snippet of Wildwood Flower that sounds like the Ventures in an echo chamber.. Very strange.

Musically the CD rates a 4. Again, the major complaint is the nearly unreadable package it comes
in..other than that, I like this band a lot and it would be interesting to hear what they play at a bluegrass festival.
(Mark Gensman, Ground Zero Sound)