outstanding - honestly - A friend turned me on to the live in Kingston cd and I was blown away. The song Honest Hour was the total hook for me - the lyrics are so descriptive and everthing flows to perfection. Great band - great album - great sound. Smooth - awesome - eclectic - down home - good time toe tapping - knee slapping put a grin on your face music.
My favorite cd I have bought in 6 months - This cd is just great. The Paul Henry and Speculator are outstanding. It truly is An Honest Hour of music. Assembly of Dust is where it s at.
One of those CDs you can play the whole way through - I had heard some Strangefolk before, so some songs were familiar to me (like Speculator). That being said, you don t need any jamband background to appreciate this CD.The tones of each song distinguish themselves. Reid Genauer is an incredible songwriter. Nate Wilson is one of the best piano players out there in my opinion. SOngs like Honest Hour, Roads, and Man with a Plan make the CD.If there was a 6 star rating, I would give it.
One of my BEST purchases of 2005 - Radio in Key West, Florida is really bad...R-E-A-L-L-Y bad. Now I have satellite radio...and life is good.Anyway, I was jamming out and working on my computer, and this really killer song came on (roads...track 4). I was listening to the Jam On station, which really isn t my thing, but I can dig it now and again (I like to keep an open mind with all types music).In this case, what was coming out of my speakers wasn t Jam Bandish...it was just beautiful music, plus it totally rocked.I stopped what I was doing and just sat their blown away and fired up. That usually doesn t happen to me during a first listen.I typed them into Amazon to read what the customers had to say, and at that time, was surprised to find only two reviews(both 5 stars)so I thought what the heck, shelled out some cash, and the rest is history.I ve turned this album on to so many people...and they love it. It s fun music, and it has to be one of the best Live performances I have ever heard.If you are open to good music...take a chance and give this album a shot. I am a critical S.O.B. when it comes to music and I proudly give this one 5 stars.
They don t make em like this anymore - The hook-filled first two songs, which got some airplay on our local AAA station, grabbed me like few others have in recent years. The rest of the CD is just as good. Superior songwriting and very tight ensemble performances all the way through. Until you hear the crowd reaction between songs you can easily forget this is a live album. I was immediately reminded of The Band -- Reid Gennauer s plaintive voice has some elements of both Rick Danko and Levon Helm and the harmonies are similar, plus the lyrics evoke Robbie Robertson s heartland-inspired classics. Mortality, fate and honor are handled with skill and humor. There are also echoes of Bruce Hornsby (particularly on Speculator) and some nimble guitar reminscent of Dickey Betts. I have heard other live recordings of this band, which are freely available, and I think they really are this good live without any studio sweetening. An honest hour of intelligent, unpretentious and spirited music. Highly recommended.