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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mighty kind music, September 29, 2002
Boy, do I like these guys.
It's not as though there hasn't been plenty of good acoustic music. Even before "O Brother Where Art Thou?" made bluegrass popular again, there was good jamgrass around: the late great Jerry Garcia (not only with the Dead but also with Old & In The Way), the New Grass Revival, Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Tony Rice, David Grisman, and so on have been making that kind of music since long before it was fashionable.
More recently there have been the String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, the Yonder Mountain String Band, and a handful of other fine bands. But as fine as these bands are (and I especially like SCI), I've just had a faint sense that something has been missing, something that had perhaps died with Jerry Garcia.
Then I put this CD into my player. I thought "Drag Him Down" was pretty good, but I wasn't too excited yet. (I hadn't listened very closely.) Then "Bird in a House" and "Like a Buddha" came on. And I said to myself, "Aha -- _that's_ what was missing."
I still don't know exactly what "that" is. But it has something to do with the musical sensibilities of the group's primary songwriter Todd Sheaffer (formerly of From Good Homes) and the tremendous array of acoustic talent in this six-person combo.
Lots of listeners have compared these guys to the Dead of the _Workingman's Dead_/_American Beauty_ period, and also to Garcia's aforementioned Old & In The Way. (And not just because From Good Homes used to open occasionally for Ratdog.) Oddly, Railroad Earth doesn't sound like either of those bands at all, and yet there's quite a lot to the comparison.
Take _Workingman's Dead_, for example. It sounds, on the surface, like more or less traditional American acoustic music. And yet, when you listen more closely, you realize that's deceptive: sure, it borrows from American tradition, but before Garcia and Hunter, nobody, but nobody, had written tunes like that.
Something like that is at work with Railroad Earth as well. Casual listeners will think they're playing bluegrass, or something close to it. But check again; this isn't bluegrass at all. It's -- what should we call it? -- hippie jamband music played on acoustic instruments. And Sheaffer's taut, otherworldly lyrics, wrapped around what sound like but are not old-timey melodies, are every bit as idiosyncratic -- and engaging -- as Robert Hunter's. (Not to mention that _voice_. He _doesn't_ really sound like Jerry . . . but then again . . . )
I don't at all mean to slight the contributions of the rest of the band; I just really like Sheaffer's songwriting. The other members -- John Skehan (mandolin and piano), Carey Harmon (drums and percussion), Dave Von Dollen (bass), Tim Carbone (violin), and Andy Goessling (guitars of various sorts, banjo, and a few other instruments as needed) -- are tremendously talented, and they do contribute to writing some of the songs. ("Peace On Earth," by Von Dollen and Carbone, is a great tune; so is "Lois Ann," a lovely instrumental piece largely written by Skehan.) But to me, at least, Sheaffer's songwriting is what really drives this CD and this group.
Can I say _anything_ bad about this CD? Well, sure; it sounds as though they were rushing a bit to complete it, and a couple of the songs seem slightly overarranged/overproduced. There are a couple of spots where I'd have wanted things to be a little less busy (the opening bars, for example, of the otherwise delightful "Came Up Smilin'," where there's just a little too much going on for my taste). But that's the level of picayune-ness I have to reach in order to find something to criticize.
Just don't make the mistake of expecting it to be (traditional) bluegrass, or you'll be disappointed. This here is barefoot-hippie hoedown music of the very finest kind.
Check out their debut CD as well. It's called _The Black Bear Sessions_ and it consists of a bunch of material originally recorded as demos. I won't review it separately but it's as good as this one.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great, fresh, uplifting jamgrass!, June 22, 2002
Jamgrass music is turning a lot of heads these days, with its eclectic sounds that blend bluegrass and rock music. This mutated hybrid genre is building a large fan base, although some feel that many mu-grass bands and practitioners have yet to really deliver a signature sound. Railroad Earth, on the other hand, is a relatively new band fronted by Todd Sheaffer that is demonstrating some of the strongest songwriting, vocals, and instrumental pyroclastics to hit the jamgrass scene in quite some time. Their music has infused some new life into a genre that seemed to be getting rather tedious. Presumably this band takes their name from the Jack Kerouac poem "October in the Railroad Earth," an uplifting piece that begins with a meticulous description of a mad street scene. As Kerouac starts to hallucinate, one realizes their own place in the universe. Like Kerouac's free-blowing improvisational writing style, Railroad Earth's music is also visionary. Railroad Earth is comprised of musicians who once played in various Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey bands until they realized they shared common musical interests and came together. Lead singer/guitarist Todd Sheaffer was a founding member, front man and primary songwriter for the band, From Good Homes, who recorded for RCA and frequently opened for Ratdog. Fiddler Tim Carbone and multi-instrumentalist/banjo-player Andy Goessling were both founding members of The Blue Sparks from Hell, who toured the eastern seaboard for years to packed houses. Mandolinist John Skehan played, toured and recorded with a number of bluegrass and rock bands over the past few years. New Yorker Carey Harmon played drums and percussion with the regional touring band, The Hour. The youngest member of the group is 22-year-old Dave Von Dollen, upright bass player, who was enlisted right out of the New School where he was studying jazz. After a few rehearsals, Railroad Earth recorded a 5-song live demo that soon got them tours and engagements at such prestigious music festivals as the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival and High Sierra Music Festival. They expanded this demo recording to a full highly-acclaimed album project called The Black Bear Sessions. This brings us to the present, and the buzz continues to swirl around this charismatic band. Railroad Earth has a Sugar Hill recording contract and the national release of their sophomore album, "Bird in a House" was released on June 4, 2002. This album shows strong bluegrass influences, but Railroad Earth also folds in other tasty textural ingredients from Celtic, jazz, folk, and rock music on a 13-track original project where all but two songs run for 4-7 minutes apiece. Bird in a House begins with a raucous "Drag Him Down," which to my ears is slightly cluttered and could've been mixed a little cleaner. The album's title cut, an introspective Grateful Dead-like piece, follows and offers some flowing fiddle playing from Tim Carbone. Then, the train settles onto the tracks and pulls the listener into their musical groove. Another Sheaffer original, Like a Buddah, gets you feeling good and smiling just like the enlightened sage himself. "Pack a Day" is an up-tempo instrumental with a few interesting twists and turns along the way. "Mountain Time" slows the pace and tells a dreamy story of good feelings experienced living on mountain time, between the intertwining instruments. "Give that Boy a Hand" is another uplifting song that dynamically builds and retreats with banjo and fiddle. The bluegrassy "Peace of Earth" drives hard and is presumably sung by one of its composers, Von Dollen or Carbone. "Walk on By" is a ballad which features some dreamy pennywhistling by Andy Goessling and shows Sheaffer's vocals at their best. The flowing "Mighty River" puts one into a contemplative and reflective mood. A very nicely-arranged instrumental "Lois Ann" allows the banjo, mandolin and fiddle to shine. Sheaffer's "Came up Smilin'" is another that Deadheads will really relate to, and it ends with a real surprise-the guys' alter-ego brass band. "Dandelion Wine" shows these guys can really pick. To close the album, the band rides on to glory in the "Saddle of the Sun." Railroad Earth's Bird in a House album is one that is sure to grow on you with each listen. With so much original material presented, I do wish the lyrics would've been included in the CD jacket. Look for this band to make a big splash with this album and their live appearances. Jamgrass fans will find that Railroad Earth is presenting some of the best music that genre has heard in some time. Like the sense of adventure found in Jack Kerouac's novels and poems, you'll find the same sentiments in the music of Railroad Earth. With their youthful exuberance and distinctive sound, their captivating music is sure to build them a legion of fans. You'll be inspired by this breadth of fresh musical air, their textured epiphany, as well as their uplifting lyrical messages.
--Joe Ross, moderator/reviewer for Nwbluegrass
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
pure smokin' honey heat moonshine harmonies!, October 16, 2002
I was turned on to these guys at Telluride, where they absolutely turned it out in the Fly Me to The Moon Saloon one post-festival evening. I've seen them again since in San Francisco and they seemed to have gotten twice as nice! This band is really cruising right now -- churning out beautiful new material, blowing up show after show. I can agree with the other reviewers in that they are not easily classified into any single genre of music: rock, bluegrass, folk, whatever. Instead, they offer something that has such amazing range that it can touch many different styles and sounds at once -- watch how easily they segue into a New Orleans brass sound at the end of "Came Up Smilin." Bluegrass may or may not continue to attract mainstream attention but Railroad Earth will succeed either way because they offer something so incredibly unique and wonderful.
Prepare yourself for the unstoppable urge to leap around your living room until you crash through the coffee table . . . also, check out the Black Bear Sessions and Shaeffer's Solo Work.
Godspeed!
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