So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater [Live]

Hot Rize | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 5, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Sugarhill
• ASIN: B000060OXG
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,505 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars God Bless Charles Sawtelle, July 19, 2004

By 

Gary Popovich "Retired Banjo Picker" (Chesterfield, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater (Audio CD)

After their amicable breakup in 1990, Hot Rize staged various reuinion concerts over the next several years, including this marvelous 1996 effort secretly caught for prosperity by bassist Nick Forster. Hot Rize appealed to almost every facet of the bluegrass world by, as mandolinist/fiddler/lead singer Tim O'Brien put it, "Making the old sound new." Most of the group's non-original material (O'Brien is a prolific song writer, with Forster and banjoist Pete Wernick also key contributers) came from the classic bluegrass artists/old timey song book (represented here by Bill Monroe's "Blue Night", The Delmore's "Life's Too Short", and Hazel Dicken's "Won't You Come and Sing For Me"), but the band's trademark instrumental synchopation gave their music a fresh, modern sound. O'Brien and Wernick are wonderful players, but the true intrumental "voice" of the band was the late, great guitarist Charles Sawtelle (a/k/a "The Bluegrass Mystery"), whose unmatched tone and clever phrasing pervades and haunts this session.

Hot Rize was one of the hardest working and most popular bluegrass bands of the '80's - and the most remarkable aspect of this concert is how tight and fresh they sound despite their layoff. One senses the compatibility and friendship of the boys in the band throughout. This one is definitely worth a listen - it'll stay on your player for a long time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot Rize at the Top of Their Game, June 3, 2002

By 

Steve Vrana (Aurora, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater (Audio CD)

While the always innovative Hot Rize continued to perform reunion shows throughout the Nineties, their last studio album was 1992's Take It Home. That's what makes this 1996 live recording of a couple of Boulder Theater shows such a treat. Hot Rize is performing before an enthusiastic home crowd and the band is hitting on all cylinders.

Although Red Knuckles doesn't make an appearance, the band performs songs from all five of their studio albums on this hour-long CD. What a joyful tribute to one of my favorite bluegrass bands. As bassist Nick Forster says in his liner notes, "This is what we sounded like on a good night." If you're new to Hot Rize, this is a great place to start. If you own their other albums, you'll want this one too. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fond musical memories of a fantastic entertaining band, April 13, 2002

By 

J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater (Audio CD)

Just listening to this new release of some great "old" material from Sugar Hill brings back many fond memories of a fantastic band that knew how to both pick and entertain. It is a Hot Rize album called "So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater" and was recorded on March 6-7, 1996. Nick Forster hadn't told the other band members that he had asked some friends to record these shows. So the result is some totally uninhibited hot picking and singing from this band of almost brothers. Then, Charles Sawtelle and Nick started talking about how to mix the tapes. The tapes were lost for a number of years. Now, we are rewarded with some live Hot Rize during their 1996 reunion tour. If you weren't aware, Hot Rize won IBMA's "Entertainer of the Year" Award in 1990, and guitarist Charles Sawtelle died of cancer in 1999. This live album has 20 bluegrass cuts, making it an excellent value for its price. The band's alter-egos (Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers) don't make an appearance on it. "So Long of a Journey" gets my two thumbs up. The scuttlebutt is also that Hot Rize will be doing some reunion shows soon, although it is not clear yet who will be replacing Charles on guitar.
--by Joe Ross, moderator/reviewer for "Nwbluegrass"