David Royko
07-26-2005, 09:48 AM
Chicago Tribune
RECORDINGS
Nickel Creek
Why Should The Fire Die? (Sugar Hill)
David Royko
Published July 22, 2005
Nickel Creek’s 2002 disc, This Side, reveled in its eclecticism, practically screaming from the rooftops, “We can do it all and we will!” Why Should the Fire Die manages to be equally varied while sounding more stylistically unified, focused, sophisticated, and, as might be expected from a band that has been together for 15 years but whose members are only in their mid-twenties, mature. All tracks are originals with the exception of Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” which is given an exceptional vocal by fiddler Sara Watkins. The arrangements are rich and deeply textured, amazingly so considering that this acoustic group did little overdubbing and invited almost no guests on board. The power of the opening cut, “When In Rome,” a cautionary tale of conformity and group-think with a whiff of stomping Celtic menace, hits like a tidal wave, while the light-hearted “Anthony” features a repeating mandolin ear-worm and vocals that drip of old-style Western croon. One of the three instrumentals, “Scotch and Chocolate,” could be heard as a modernized extension of the traditional “Cuckoo’s Nest” that has long been a rousing highlight of live shows. Since their debut on Sugar Hill five years ago, Nickel Creek has set the standards for innovation within an acoustic setting, and their latest raises the bar yet another notch.
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune
RECORDINGS
Nickel Creek
Why Should The Fire Die? (Sugar Hill)
David Royko
Published July 22, 2005
Nickel Creek’s 2002 disc, This Side, reveled in its eclecticism, practically screaming from the rooftops, “We can do it all and we will!” Why Should the Fire Die manages to be equally varied while sounding more stylistically unified, focused, sophisticated, and, as might be expected from a band that has been together for 15 years but whose members are only in their mid-twenties, mature. All tracks are originals with the exception of Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” which is given an exceptional vocal by fiddler Sara Watkins. The arrangements are rich and deeply textured, amazingly so considering that this acoustic group did little overdubbing and invited almost no guests on board. The power of the opening cut, “When In Rome,” a cautionary tale of conformity and group-think with a whiff of stomping Celtic menace, hits like a tidal wave, while the light-hearted “Anthony” features a repeating mandolin ear-worm and vocals that drip of old-style Western croon. One of the three instrumentals, “Scotch and Chocolate,” could be heard as a modernized extension of the traditional “Cuckoo’s Nest” that has long been a rousing highlight of live shows. Since their debut on Sugar Hill five years ago, Nickel Creek has set the standards for innovation within an acoustic setting, and their latest raises the bar yet another notch.
Copyright © 2005, Chicago Tribune