Customer Reviews

A String Cheese Incident

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was actually looking for Phish stuff on Amazon when I noticed this weird band called "The String Cheese Incident." I went and checked them out and then got some of their Mp3's and thought they were amazing. I ordered "Born on the Wrong Planet," "Round the Wheel," and this album which I'm reviewing, "A String Cheese Incident." Now, this is probably my favorite of the three that I have. The first track is great, it is the perfect opener. It slowly progresses into a great instrumental piece. But all the songs are great. It is one of those ablums that you don't even care to learn the track titles to because you just listen to it straight. When I describe SCI to friends I say that it is a mix of bluegrass, Phish, a little Dave Matthews, and a little rock n' roll. For anyone who likes easy to listen to, Phish-type music, SCI is great. This particular live album is really good.

String Cheese Incident is a great band. There music is so much fun to listen to. This album catches them at their best; Live. Like The Grateful Dead and Phish, String Cheese is best live. The ten songs on this album are all great. The real stand outs are Lonesome Fiddle Blues, Little Hands, Sna Jose and a great version of the Aerosmith song Walk This Way. The musicians are all extremely talented and they can write good songs. This is eveident in San Jose and Little Hands. If you are a fan of Phish, The Grateful Dead or bluegrass there is a strong chance that you will like this band. If you like this album, Carnival is almost as good.

However you got here, buy this CD. Do you like jam bands such as Phish, Dead, Widespread Panic? Buy this CD. The range of music is extraordinary. Latin, Bluegrass, Rock & Roll, some jazz influences. Tight music, solid vocals, very strong flow. Another Amazon reviewer called this the best live CD in the last 10 years. Initially I assumed he was exaggerating, however, he may well be right!

Lonesome Fiddle Blues, Little Hands and Dudley's Kitchen make for one of the finest intro sets to a live album you will ever hear. Rhythm of the Road has great transitions, from rockin' to light and back and forth. How Mountain Girls Can Love is a short and tasty touch of bluegrass.

Pirates is a salsa sound with a transition that starts about 2 minutes into it, takes about 2 minutes to roll into more Santana like (is it just me or do many snippets have a Santana feel to it?) rifts, and who doesn't like Santana?

WAKE UP may just be the best cut on this disc, lyrically anyway, and the rhythm guitar work is very well done . . . and the solo work at the end of the musical break is very tasty.

Lands End has a sound that reminds me, a little, of Eric Johnson, (the 'Cliffs of Dover' dude), at the start anyway, 1st three minutes or so, then it just kind of evolves into a very tasty jam, and the next thing you know your on your way to San Jose (do you hear a bit of Paul Simon graceland influence here or is it just me?). It's salsa again, and it's good.

And well, that brings me to their cover of Walk This Way, which makes me smile every time I hear it.

So go ahead and buy this CD, it will provide lots of listening pleasure with a timeless appeal.

My first encounter with the SCI was a concert in Troy, NY, a month ago. They completely rocked, so I decided to buy this CD to keep the excitement from fading.

Let me try to analyze this CD from both sides--the good and the bad, for most Amazon reviews only focus on one or the other; i.e., people either rave about it or discount it.

Starting from the bad side. This sound quality of this live CD is so good that it misses to capture the excitement of how the ecstatic audience (might have) had reacted to a concert with such an amazing musical content. For this, I deducted one star. The Stones and Frampton (and the Dead of course) did really well in that, but everytime I listen to this CD, I feel like I'm sitting in a living room instead of a concert hall. The RAWNESS of a live show is missing in this CD. It's way too CLEAN.

Now the good side. This band is so AMAZING that their musical talent can hardly be described in words. Am I glad that I bought this CD? OH YEAH!! I enjoy every minute of the playfulness of their jamming. This version of "Walk this Way" will make you fall off of a chair if you have never been exposed to their music. So buckle up!!

It is heartening to have such young, talented, and fun-loving musicians like the members of the SCI putting music together to keep us entertained.

This is one of the most intensely inspiring albums one can ever hope to drift into. Flowing and dynamic, the mix of sounds and rhythms tune the soul. An excellent buy!

this album is so good i literally cried when i first listened to it. they are definitely one of the best jam bands out there. so if you like jam bands, if you like blugrass (this is not bluegrass, but it is reminicent of bluegrass), if you like phish, greatful dead, then stop what you are doing and go buy this cd immediately. i promise that you will also start crying upon hearing the tunes.

This was the first album I bought by String Cheese and since receiving it a few weeks a go I have fallen in love. String Cheese Incindent Live shows the amazing ability of SCI to play many different styles: bluegrass, classic rock, even some songs with a latin influence. Through this cd string cheese has placed themselves among the greatest jam bands. Songs like "Pirates", "Rythm of the Road", and "Little Hands" are unmatched. If your an SCI fan this cd is a must, if you're new to the band, String Cheese Incident Live is a great introduction.

One of the most sensational live performances I have ever heard, and it makes me want to listen to more. From listening to this album, I completely understand how this band has picked up popularity so quick, coming from almost nowhere. If you love funky blue grass and great jams then this album is for you. The songs have a great groove, and the solos are extremely intense. This album is absolutely worth owning.

This is an amazing CD. The recording is a little rough, and is sometimes tough to hear, but that is the only flaw. High points include "San Jose" and "Walk this Way." They have everything from keyboards to mandolins to violins. Buy this thing. You too will realize that The Incident plays a style all their own and are on their way to becoming one of the next great bands.

I don't have much to say about this CD. This is an awesome live SCI cd. This is the second SCI cd that i own but it is by far the best, after listening to this cd i then proceeded to order Live at the Filmore. I highly, HIGHLY recommend this CD to anyone who is looking for a awesome jam band.