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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Welcome revival of the lost art of collective playing, February 20, 1999
This review is from: The Strange Remain (Audio CD)
After a few false starts, the Other Ones solidified their lineup and took to the road for a rousing summer tour. The recorded result of that tour is the recent release, The Strange Remain. Comparisons to the Dead and Jerry are inevitable, but this needs to be judged on it's own merits. The playing is crisp and tight, the song selection is great and the sound quality is superb. The guitars are sometimes low in the mix and one could argue that there is too much sax where more guitar would be optimum, but that is minor irritations. Ellis is a great sax player, the combo of Hart and Molo is energetic and precise, Hornsby is a master, Kimock and Karan are tasteful without overplaying and Lesh and Weir have found a collective that plays as "weird" as they do. This disc is a winner from start to finish and deserves it's place in the continuing story that was once the Grateful Dead. These guys do Jerry proud.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is not your father's Grateful Dead..., December 6, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: The Strange Remain (Audio CD)
I get so tired of hearing people complain that The Other Ones are band of musicians "trying to be the Grateful Dead without Jerry." But this band is NOT the Grateful Dead...these are the "other ones" from that fabled band. I was fortunate to have witnessed the group both times that they had toured (Summer '98 and Late Summer '00), and this disc does capture, as well as any recording can, the spirit and music that had came out on the '98 tour. The idea was to take the songs made famous by the Grateful Dead and transform it into something different. Highlights of the discs for me, include the following: A transformed "Saint Stephen-->The Eleven", a rip-roaring "Corrina", a sinewy "The Other One", and the latest Bob Weir-Robert Hunter collaboration, the ethereal "Banyan Tree". In addition, the band has re-arranged several of Bruce Hornsby's songs. It sounds as if they had been written for the Grateful Dead. Listening to "Rainbow's Cadillac", I had almost thought the band was heading into "Franklin's Tower." The band members are playing extremely well, perhaps in part to the new (and sometime old) players, particularily Bruce Hornsby and Dave Ellis. The guitarists are excellent. Steve Kimock captures the essence of Garcia's silvery-tones, while Mark Karan infuses the music with a touch of rock and blues. Bob Weir sounds "grate", vocally and instrumentally. In short, buy this disc. It may not be the Grateful Dead, but its still good. The music never stops...
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jam Band Founders Truck on with new vehicle, February 13, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: The Strange Remain (Audio CD)
Where the Grateful Dead was consistently inconsistent both live and on disc, the OO's are like a luxury cruiser,rocksteady...bouncing...and still gets you there, whether truckin, flyin' or groovin... John Molo's sharp, rhythmatic attack contrasts sharply with Micky Hart's fluid beats, Phil Lesh still lays a bombastic floor to the proceedings, Bob Weir has matured and seriuosly takes on the mantle of leader of the band...Bruce Hornsby's reedy voice channels the essence of Garcia, the twin guitar work of Mark Karan and Steve Kimmock fill in the trills and florishes we all thought were gone forever, and Dave Ellis adds a lush aspect to Grateful Dead music I never thought possible. Not a cover band, nor nostalgic mongering posers but legitimate heir apparent to the legacy of the Grateful Dead...a suped up Lexus van upgrade from the VW history of America's longest lasting and greatest muse. For all the unconvinced and for all interested, check it out!
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