Live: Duets

Mike Marshall and Chris Thile | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 24, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B000C8STFI
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,198 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mandolin Monsters Mow Us Down, January 28, 2006

By 

Mark J. Fowler "Let's Play Two!" (Jacksonville, Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Live: Duets (Audio CD)

I had the good fortune to see Masters Thile and Marshall two weeks ago where they had this sparkling disc on sale. I don't know how many might curiously seek out their rare live duet performances or their recordings because of Chris Thile's massive success and exposure (for a contemporary bluegrass musician) as one of the leaders of "Nickel Creek". But I know that at the concert were several packs of young women who seemed thrilled at first, then a little restless that young master Thile wasn't going to break out into "The Lighthouse" or "When in Rome".

It has long been known that Chris Thile was evolving into the undisputed master of the mandolin (I would argue pushing, finally catching and now, perhaps surpassing Mike Marshall.) Although Nickel Creek has the good looks and catchy tunes, there's no fluff to their music, and Chris Thile's musicianship has been described as a "Force of Nature with a Flatpick". If you don't know who Mike Marshall is, you should. He joined the David Grisman Quintette while a teenager after winning every mandolin contest in Florida. Grisman said that it was a little odd being blown away every night on stage by someone playing his own instrument, but at least it was his music. Mike has branched off in the two decades since, playing about every kind of music that can be performed on mandolin - Brazilian Choros, Classical (with his Modern Mandolin Quartet), Acoustic Jazz with Montreaux and his partner Darol Anger, Americana and Bluegrass with Psychograss and Newgrange, Edgar Meyer and Bela Fleck. To be concise: I don't think ANYONE has EVER played mandolin better than these two men do right now.

Because of their many other gigs they get to get together infrequently, but I think their kindred spirit and mutual abilities compel them to play mandolin duets. I think they would do it whether we got to listen or not. Mercifully, we get to listen.

What they play is incredible, but it's not "Nickel Creek" and it's not "Bill Monroe" either. The tunes are their originals, except for an occasional Bach Violin Partita. (The Gigue from the 2nd solo partita on this recording, although Mike has written a second part for mandocello. "I wasn't going to just sit here while Chris played..." he said at the concert.) They played Bulgarian breakdowns and Hawaii-inspired melodies. Like their previous recording "Into the Cauldron", they mix beautiful ballads and joyous instrumentals with speed-demon barn burners with technique and speed that is rarely reached by musicians with names other than "Itzhak Perlman" or "Eric Johnson". Although this is a live recording, it's not just a "live" version of "Into the Cauldron". The only "repeat" I see is "Hey Ho!", which is tacked on as a medley at the end of the new and boisterous "Joy Ride In A Toy Car", and hearing the vim and vigor that the live crowd produces in their playing is electric.

One final word - many of the "super virtuosos" play music that is so incredibly difficult that live performances walk a fine line between a mistep that would be the musical equivalent of an Olympic Ice Skater completing a triple jump or falling on their butt. Despite the denseness of the music and the speed at which it is executed, I have never seen or heard Chris or Mike fall. We are not worthy.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The duo works well together to create nuance and significant emotional content, March 13, 2006

By 

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

This review is from: Live: Duets (Audio CD)

Playing Time - 53:00 -- With Mike Marshall in the left speaker, and Chris Thile in the right, "Live Duets" captures two virtuoso mandolin masters at work. After the opening cut of their composition, "Shoulda Seen It Comin'," we can hear one of the players comment, "We're gonna have fun tonight!" And that is no doubt why this record was made ... for us to enjoy the fun and energy of their 16 strings in consummate performance. After the second cut, Mike says, "This is fun!" Based on their power and strength, the dynamic duo could very well be two super heroes in disguise. This sequel to their successful 2003 collaborative effort, "Into the Cauldron," takes us into some similarly adventurous territory. To these guys, Mandoville has no city limits. Four cuts feature one of the guys playing mandocello, and one of those (Thile's "Hualalai") actually has Marshall on both mandola and mandocello.

There are a couple ways to tune into the music of this indefatigable duet. One is to listen very intently to appreciate the sensational musical telepathy and groove happening between the two. Mandolin players might want to follow this course. Another approach is to merely relax and let the notes and rhythms casually weave their way through a Zen-like atmosphere in search of truth and understanding. To me the players' minds seem clear of all limitations as they strive for oneness in their music. They realize that there's really only one way that they can collaboratively succeed - and that is along a musical path that is straight, open, wide, and free of obstructions. A traditional Bulgarian tune, "Sedi Donka," begins with Thile demonstrating the complicated rhythm to the audience ... long, short, short, long, short, short, short, short, long, short, short. The song's genesis includes aqueous improvisation and tremolo built around the tune's unique melody.

Through invisible, sound does have much color. Marshall and Thile use their instruments in much the same way that Monet and Piccasso used paintbrushes. The juxtaposition of one's notes with the other's creates each piece's coloring. Notice how their sonic colors work together to produce feelings. I was very happy to see a delicate piece like Marshall's 2-minute "'Til Dawn" breathe some slower air into the overall set. With high musical intellect, good ears, and considerable sensitivity, the duo works well together to create nuance and significant emotional content. Check out their musical canvas to discover the special quality of their sound. As with most live albums, applause between songs can be a little annoying. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern, International, Technical, Brilliant Mandolin Stew, January 31, 2006

By 

Kim A Miller (Windsor, CT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Live: Duets (Audio CD)

For those of you who loved "Into the Cauldron" "Live Duets" is more and better. More of Mike Marshall and Chris Thile because of the live ambiance and comments in this fine recording. Better because the recording is actually cleaner and clearer than its studio predecessor. Better because the songs are even more daring, complex and if you like that sort of thing, obscure.

Being one of those who loved the more melodic Chris Thile of his earlier efforts, it has taken me a while to accept the changes. While listening to a few of the cuts, I am reminded of the first time I heard Igor Stravinsky. At first, it struck me as grating and hard to listen to, but as I embraced the music I found it both complex and compelling.

No, this is not a whole album of "modern" music. Some of the other cuts are based on music from other countries, some from the other side of the planet, with a little tweak to those who resent Thile blowing through bluegrass and moving on (Carpathian Mountain Breakdown).

The brilliance is not only in the speed of play and fine technique. The layering of the two players, playing one bit above or below the other, creating effects that sound like waves of tiny bells, clearly transcends what they have done together before. Tanja, the last cut on the album, has some mandolin "effects" I have never heard before.

My favorite cut on the album is "Joy Ride in a Toy Car" which is so beautiful and breathtaking in its speed and cacophany that I replay it first each time I load the album. Other fine cuts include Byron's and Sedi Donka (Bulgarian).

Mike Marshall accompanies many of the efforts and leads on some and his composition, "Till Dawn" is short, but clearly the most melodic song on the album.