Jamgrass - A Phish Tribute
Eric Ward
Monday, April 12, 2004
glidemagazine.com
In the same vein as the Pickin’ On and Gone Phishin’ bluegrass tributes, the new JamGrass Sessions are the brainchild of producer/engineer Bil VornDick - and the first release of his anticipated series is yet another nod to the current leaders of jam, Phish.
Looking for much more than standard covers, VornDick assembled a pickin’ powerhouse roster that features two of Ricky Skaggs’ boys, Andy Leftwich and Mark Fain, and a strong assortment of talented accompaniment rounding out the band. Together they paint a banjo laden, harmony rich spin on both classics and late 90s material, but prove some songs are just to phishy for fiddles.
The rhythmic sing-a-long, “Bouncing Around The Room” is as happy as ever, and surprisingly, “Sample In A Jar” easily becomes a smoky mountain favorite. Most Phish ballads would seem to lend themselves to bluegrass interpretation, but somehow “Farmhouse” misses the mark, falling victim to unnecessary acceleration and hokey vocals. But the brief err is quickly forgotten, as “Fast Enough For You” sounds as comfortable here as on Rift. Equally as open to bluegrass instrumentation and those infamous rail riding lyrics, newcomers “46 Days” and “Get Back On The Train” feel right at home.
If anything is a borderline stretch done successfully, Phish epics, “Free” and "Down With Disease,” receive solid renditions, but perhaps would be more fitting as unexpected bustouts at the bar over actual album cuts. Though both selections still tower over the rock anthem “Chalkdust Torture,” and the Anastasio-techno phase product, “Gotta Jibbo.” With the extensive Phish catalogue to choose from, there had to be dozens of songs VornDick could have gone to before hitting those particular tracks with a banjo.
Hopefully we’ll see some of them on the next installment. |
