One Step Closer

String Cheese Incident | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sci Fidelity Records
• ASIN: B0009ML2TC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #111,749 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #52 in Music > Rock > Jam Bands > Bluegrass Jam Bands

Editorial Reviews

Features free bonus DVD " The Making Of One Step Closer" over 30 minutes of never seen before footage.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mixed emotions from a different flavor of cheese.., December 29, 2005

By 

spiral_mind (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Step Closer (Audio CD)

I hate to say it, but: this is the first SCI album I can't wholeheartedly recommend to everyone. They still kick live and their signature rock/jazz/bluegrass/Latin/tropical/pop jam-band gumbo is as vibrant as ever, but this time around, the studio work really doesn't convey just what an imaginative & multifaceted group they are. Too bad. It's still a fairly solid disc. It definitely has its strengths (the title track gets a very nice makeover) and I'm the first one to say we should let go of expectations and take something on its own merits, but I still can't get past what's missing here.

The idea this time around was to concentrate mainly on the songs & writing, stripping the production/embellishments to a minimum. The jams are absent. The arrangements are so bare that they leave little or no room for group interaction. It's admirable to let go of one's crutches now and then.. but it also means the album is missing one of the Incident's biggest strengths. It's almost like Leonard Cohen making an album with someone else's lyrics, or Eric Clapton making one with only rhythm guitar.

Overall it's more mellow than anything else, although the different elements (country, jazz/funk, world-beat) are still present. To be fair, most of the material here does stand up in terms of writing if you look past a couple duds, and it still approaches greatness in spots (see "45th of November," "Silence in Your Head," the sinuous "Rainbow Serpent"). And if it leaves us wanting more, we can rest assured the next one will be different yet again.

Start with Outside Inside; follow up with Untying the Not or a live release (or better yet, go see them live) if you want to discover the greatest jam band still going. If you want more you can still enjoy this, but I'm afraid it's not really essential Cheese.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't expect a live show!, September 6, 2005

By 

AmeriKinda (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Step Closer (Audio CD)

In an effort to accomplish something truly humble and personal String Cheese Incident (SCI) has released this, their most recent album. A mistake obviously made by a prior review is to judge this work on scale with the band's energizing live performances. With past releases SCI has not reached the energy that their live performances are capable of, and this album is no different. In fact it is obvious that was not what they were attempting to do. But what they did do is take some time in the studio, an environment that is essentially new and rather exciting to them, and attempt to do something different. Utilizing, a producer with experience working with Dylan, SCI created a "rootsy" album with tracks that have been simplified and reworked specifically for the recording. Not to mention the subject matter of the work. Granted some of the tracks aren't something to call your friends about, but there is beauty to be had, and it is not hard to find. With collaboration with Todd Shaeffer of Railroad Earth, SCI accomplishes some rather profound writing, minus a couple of Travis songs. All in all if I had to say what it sounded like; a strange mix of The Beatles and Bob Dylan crossed with the String Cheese I know, and love. I can only ask that you let the disc spin a couple of times before you pass judgment, its too good not to!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars I guess one would call this Soft Cheese., November 16, 2005

By 

AmylNite "TuneHead" (Beaufort, SC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Step Closer (Audio CD)

With the exception of a few of their more recent live albums, I have just about everything SCI has put out. I became a fan only relatively recently, but once I got one (starting with their collaboration with Kellar Williams), I got hooked and can't stop. But this album left me disappointed. It was slow and stripped down. As several have said before me, none of the jams, none of the joy, none of the humor, nor the can't-stop-moving musicality of basically every other release by these guys, whether live or in the studio. Everything else - ANYthing else- they've done is just better. Buy if you want to have a complete collection of their work, but if you're a first-time buyer, don't go here, because it's not representative of just how fantastic they are. Had this been the first album I got from them, I would not have bought more and would've missed the unbelievable experience I have every time I listen to virtually everything else they've done.