Rachael B
Senior HTF Member
First, before the album, what is the "Discovery Series"? My best quess is that MFSL is going to market lesser-known artists, or lesser marketable albums as such for $20 instead of the usual $25. Mike Marshall's GATOR STRUT is the first of this supposed, new series.
I've been trying to think of a category for this album and that ain't E-Z. I think the best I can muster is kuntry/bluegrass/jazz/classical fusion. It's a little bit kuntry, it's a little bit klassical, it's a little bit jazz, look ma, it's shake and bake.
This is a kind of album that just can't become popular in 2-day's repressed, stereo-typical musical dim age, me thinks, which is a cryin' shame! It's all instrumental, strays from stereo-typical genre to genere, sometimes within' a track even, and just defies categorization. That's just fine by me, but I'm anything but a typical music consumer with typical expectations, aren't I?
Mike Marshall is an extrodinary mandolin player. The album's credits credit him with a variety of "mando" instruments beside the reg-lar one. I'm not really sure what all of them are... mandolla, mandocello, and single-string manodola...? However, I'm quite sure he sounds great playing them! He's also credited with playing guitar and violin, but it's the mandolin type instuments that grab ya. It's like who is that madman on mandolin. He can be so-ooo fast!
When I saw the suppourting cast on this album it was an easy decision to go out on a limb, ha, and buy it. How 'bout, Bella Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Rob Wasserman? The other players were unknown to my concious mind anyways... There are no drums. This is string music, except for a slight bit of keyboards on a few tracks.
As far as material goes, you get a variety for sure. I'm liking Marshall's own composition the most proably because they're new musical ground for me? He does very well with the covers though. He does a big variety to say the least, Bach, Lennon-McCartney, Thelonius Monk, Coltrane, Revel, and some guy named Traditional.
Coltrane's GIANT HORNPIPE sounds like it was just written to be a fast country rag. I love the way they play the Beatles BECAUSE real slow with Marshall plucking some "mando" instrument real fast. Marshall sounds right at home, solo, plucking Bach's Partita #3 in E Major for Solo Violin on the mandolin.
Whilst listening to Monk's 'ROUND MIDNIGHT I got this feeling that this unorthodox reading would make great movie soundtrack fare, I don't know why...? CHIEF SITTING IN THE RAIN by that Mr. Traditional really rings a bell with me. First of all they bring in Bella Fleck (banjo) and Jerry Douglas (dobro) for this one. It might be the most "full-bodied" track on the album with one solo after another? It's a 1st rate kuntry rag fer shore!
Marshall's own compositions are sort'a like...hmnn, if you took the original Dixie Dregs, booted the drummer, made 'em play acoustic only, and added mandolin. GATOR STRUT starts out with an almost guitar-like "low Violin" line that for an instant seems rock-like. however, it quickly evolves into something else where quitars and mandolins compete for your attention with violin for rhythm. I just don't know what to call this music but it's intresting.
YBOR CITY has a bit of a flamenco edge to it, especially the guitar intro. After that it sounds more jazzy. GATOR'S DREAM, I don't know what to call it. Alot of mandocello and Violin will have to do. The mandocello almost sounds like a guitar at times. I would of titled the piece Gator's Short Concerto myself, but then that's just me. The piece is definitely neo-classical and at times reminded me of Astor Piazzolla, sort'a.
This is definitely a very eccentric album! If you like this sort of thing, it's definitely a winner. If not, forget it....
I've been trying to think of a category for this album and that ain't E-Z. I think the best I can muster is kuntry/bluegrass/jazz/classical fusion. It's a little bit kuntry, it's a little bit klassical, it's a little bit jazz, look ma, it's shake and bake.
This is a kind of album that just can't become popular in 2-day's repressed, stereo-typical musical dim age, me thinks, which is a cryin' shame! It's all instrumental, strays from stereo-typical genre to genere, sometimes within' a track even, and just defies categorization. That's just fine by me, but I'm anything but a typical music consumer with typical expectations, aren't I?
Mike Marshall is an extrodinary mandolin player. The album's credits credit him with a variety of "mando" instruments beside the reg-lar one. I'm not really sure what all of them are... mandolla, mandocello, and single-string manodola...? However, I'm quite sure he sounds great playing them! He's also credited with playing guitar and violin, but it's the mandolin type instuments that grab ya. It's like who is that madman on mandolin. He can be so-ooo fast!
When I saw the suppourting cast on this album it was an easy decision to go out on a limb, ha, and buy it. How 'bout, Bella Fleck, Jerry Douglas, and Rob Wasserman? The other players were unknown to my concious mind anyways... There are no drums. This is string music, except for a slight bit of keyboards on a few tracks.
As far as material goes, you get a variety for sure. I'm liking Marshall's own composition the most proably because they're new musical ground for me? He does very well with the covers though. He does a big variety to say the least, Bach, Lennon-McCartney, Thelonius Monk, Coltrane, Revel, and some guy named Traditional.
Coltrane's GIANT HORNPIPE sounds like it was just written to be a fast country rag. I love the way they play the Beatles BECAUSE real slow with Marshall plucking some "mando" instrument real fast. Marshall sounds right at home, solo, plucking Bach's Partita #3 in E Major for Solo Violin on the mandolin.
Whilst listening to Monk's 'ROUND MIDNIGHT I got this feeling that this unorthodox reading would make great movie soundtrack fare, I don't know why...? CHIEF SITTING IN THE RAIN by that Mr. Traditional really rings a bell with me. First of all they bring in Bella Fleck (banjo) and Jerry Douglas (dobro) for this one. It might be the most "full-bodied" track on the album with one solo after another? It's a 1st rate kuntry rag fer shore!
Marshall's own compositions are sort'a like...hmnn, if you took the original Dixie Dregs, booted the drummer, made 'em play acoustic only, and added mandolin. GATOR STRUT starts out with an almost guitar-like "low Violin" line that for an instant seems rock-like. however, it quickly evolves into something else where quitars and mandolins compete for your attention with violin for rhythm. I just don't know what to call this music but it's intresting.
YBOR CITY has a bit of a flamenco edge to it, especially the guitar intro. After that it sounds more jazzy. GATOR'S DREAM, I don't know what to call it. Alot of mandocello and Violin will have to do. The mandocello almost sounds like a guitar at times. I would of titled the piece Gator's Short Concerto myself, but then that's just me. The piece is definitely neo-classical and at times reminded me of Astor Piazzolla, sort'a.
This is definitely a very eccentric album! If you like this sort of thing, it's definitely a winner. If not, forget it....
