Disc review - Take A Stand - Ethan Wiley
By Michael Lello
jambands.com
self-released
With most jam bands owing at least a small debt to bluegrass, it's natural that many fans in
theimprov-rock scene are checking out the genre, from David Grisman's collaborations with Jerry
Garcia to so-called "jam-grass" outfits like String Cheese Incident and the Gordon Stone Band, both
of which have converted many from the Phish audience. And while Ethan Wiley's latest
all-instrumental release, "Take A Stand", is not nearly as accessible to the bluegrass novice as,
say, SCI, Stone, or Phish's myriad bluegrass tunes, it might be worth your time and effort to delve
into this more traditional sounding newgrass/chamber album.
In the liner notes, Wiley writes that most people's first question is: what the hell is a mandocello? I
admit it was my first question, too, when I read the word next to his name in the credits. Thankfully,
Wiley explains that a mandolin is tuned like a violin, a mandola like a viola and a mandocello like a
cello. Simple enough. With that out of the way, let's get to the music.
I'm admittedly one of the bluegrass novices mentioned above, so I tried to approach this album with
open ears and an open mind. Wiley's strong songwriting and the talents of his bandmates Jon
Sholle (guitar, something called a "papoose guitar", dobro, banjo), Jim Whitney (bass), Joyce
Anderson (violin) and Joe Craven (percussion) shine through, regardless of your knowledge or
appreciation for newgrass music.
The fourth track, Out of Here, is a mellow pastoral ballad, blanketed by Wiley and Sholle's smooth
plucking and aptly buoyed by Whitney and Craven. The next tune is Shinglehouse Road, the
closest thing to old-school bluegrass tunes in the set, complete with soaring fiddles, the jazzy
plink-plunk of Whitney's upright bass and a Grisman-esque mandolin solo from Wiley.
The sixth piece, Idle Time, is pretty and slow, befitting its title. It's also one of the first chances for
us to hear Wiley showcase his chops on that unique instrument of his, the mandocello. After the
first verse he takes a beautiful, haunting mandocello solo that's tough to put into words. Upon first
listen, the instrument struck me as having the melancholy mid-range wail of a cello, the twang of an
acoustic guitar but an attack gentler than a mandolin, particularly lacking the mandolin's penchant
for banjo-like staccato.
My immediate favorite tune on this album was Turtle's Nap. In the bluegrass tradition, the melody is
passed from player to player, with Wiley first taking a mandolin lead, then Anderson copping it on
the violin, before Wiley steals it back, this time trilling on the mandolin before passing it to his own
mandola. While the lead figure on this ballad is repeated throughout, it seems to carry more weight
each time it's played because of its lyrical beauty. It's one of those lines that doesn't need words: it
already speaks volumes without them. Remember, one of the most beloved qualities of Garcia's
guitar playing was its lyrical nature, the way every note rang clear and seemed to be saying
something, and something important. You'd be kidding yourself if you said he didn't pick that up from
his early bluegrass banjo days.
The second-to-last track, Kitten's Smitten, has a main guitar riff that bears more than a passing
resemblance to Black Muddy River. The song sounds more like a folk ballad than a bluegrass piece,
and when Wiley takes a mandolin solo, you can't help but think of an expressive Garcia acoustic
solo, maybe something you might be lucky enough to hear in Brokedown Palace. Make no mistake,
I'm not calling Wiley a rip-off artist. The comparison to a great and expressive player like Garcia is a
compliment in the highest regard.
The 14th and final song, The Unfortunate Mule Incident features a neat Spanish-style mandolin run
and picks up steam at the end thanks to an almost-rockin' repeated guitar riff. The song never
reaches the fevered pitch it hints at, and that's a shame, but it whets the appetite for what this
song, and maybe the band as a whole, can do in the live setting. It's a fitting way to end the disc.
This album, while admittedly not for everyone, manages to keep both feet planted in the modern
bluegrass idiom while flailing its arms into the realms of folk, rock, country, blues and Latin (see
Hualtuco and parts of Incident). It's admirable that Wiley and company are able to explore those
elements without completely shifting gears. Give this record a try. After a few listens, you'll stop
comparing it to what you're familiar with and begin to enjoy it on its own merits for what it is: a fine,
playful, risky piece of acoustic music. |
