The Knuckleball Suite

Peter Mulvey

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 18, 2006)
• Original Release Date: April 18, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Signature Sounds Recordings
• ASIN: B000EMGAFI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #132,045 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A knuckleball leaves a pitcher's fingertips, and what happens next is anybody's guess. Batters (and catchers) will tell you that what, from the stands, looks like a straightforward toss is actually a floating, dancing mystery, impossible to pin down. Its path is unpredictable; it is a hidebound enigma.

The Knuckleball Suite was recorded in two and a half days, with a cadre of world-class improvising musicians who had not rehearsed a single note of the songs together. It is not Jazz, but it is a Jazz approach. The years of study and refinement, theory and practice, are present, but are shrugged off at the doorstep of the studio. In there, it's rapport and intuition, spontaneity and spark. What gets spoken is the barest essentials: "Tag it twice?", "End on four to one, yes?" What is unspoken is every leap, listen, and turn. And what remains is usually take two, sometimes take three. Each track is a warm, large-format photograph of a gifted musical posse, caught in the very moment of Making It All Up. Out of thin air. For real.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful Guitar...Pointed Lyrics, April 24, 2006

By	David Kubiak "shotgun" (Kodiak, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Peter Mulvey played much of this album for me and another hundred or so Kodiak (Alaska) music fans the other night before we listened to Chris Smither perform. I was very pleased with Mulvey's masterful guitar playing and clever poetry. While he sang and played, I could not help thinking who I would send this album to...good sign.

Mulvey must have received formal guitar training early, as his guitar work is masterful, switching from bare finger picking to flat picking with ease and grace was impressive without being too showy. But very good guitar alone is getting a bit common, passe even. What stands out with Mulvey is his bitingly pointed and humorous lyrics with his masterful guitar. In the folk tradition without being folky, Mulvey comments on politics, love, and the direction life takes in spite of our best efforts to steer ourselves through it.

If Peter Mulvey is new to you, here is a fine discovery. If he is known to you, here is a fitting new example of this modern troubadour's musical and lyrical talent.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Samples Incorrect!, December 25, 2008

By	R. Clark "music junkie" (northern Illinois) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a fantastic album, and well deserving of your hard earned. However, as of 12/25/08, the samples provided here by Amazon are NOT from this album. They don't even sound like Peter Mulvey. I don't where the samples originate, but be careful not to judge your decision to buy based on them. They do NOT represent The Knuckleball Suite.

Amazon folks: If you manage to see this and correct the error, feel free to delete my post.

5.0 out of 5 stars BUYER BEWARE!!, March 15, 2009

By	Philip Ross (Roslindale, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Knuckleball Suite (MP3 Download)

I just purchased and downloaded the mp3 version of this album and what I received was not Peter Mulvey's Knuckleball Suite. I don't know what album it is, but there has been some kind of mistake made on the Amazon website regarding this recording.

Listening to the samples afterward I now know that they are incorrect also. I didn't check them before purchasing because I am familiar with this album. I won't make that mistake again.

My experiences with Amazon have always been excellent and I am sure they will rectify this problem.

Amazon Admins: Feel free to remove this after the correct recording has been posted.