THE WOOD BROTHERS
''THE MUSE''
OCTOBER 1 2013
43:13
1 /Wastin' My Mind
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/2:59
2 /Neon Tombstone
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:54
3 /Sing About It
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:41
4 /Honey Jar
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:58
5 /The Muse
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:20
6 /Keep Me Around
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:38
7 /Sweet Maria
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:18
8 /I Got Loaded/4:03
9 /Who the Devil
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:08
10 /Losin' Streak
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:12
11 /Firewater
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:02
Steven Herrman /Cornet, Guest Artist, Trumpet
Jim Hoke /Guest Artist, Horn Arrangements, Saxophone
Bill Huber /Guest Artist, Trombone, Trombone (Bass)
Anne McCrary /Guest Artist, Vocals (Background)
Regina McCrary /Guest Artist, Vocals (Background)
Buddy Miller /Guest Artist, Guitar (Baritone)
Jano Rix /Drums, Melodica, Percussion, Piano, Vocals
Chris Wood /Bass, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Vocals
Oliver Wood /Guitar, Mandocello, Vocals
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
The Wood Brothers are hard to pin down -- they play a sort of Americana version of jazz, or country with an edge, or folk with some rhythmic bite, or maybe secular gospel with a touch of swing. At their best, they create the best blend of vernacular American roots music since the Band folded, and while there are a lot of neo-Americana bands out there who critics keep claiming sound like the Band, well, these guys actually do. The Buddy Miller-produced The Muse is their fourth album, and while the previous three releases were pretty darn great, this one is arguably even better, a step forward into a fuller, rounder, and more complete sound, anchored, as always, by Chris Wood's wonderful acoustic basslines (his day job is playing bass for Medeski, Martin & Wood) and Oliver Wood's backwoods vocal style and sharp, literate songwriting skills. This album is a gem, opening with the best song yet by the Band that wasn't written or recorded by the Band, "Wastin' My Mind," and continuing the feel with "Neon Tombstone," "Honey Jar," "Sweet Maria" (a bit of folk cabaret, really), the barroom ballad shuffle "I Got Loaded," and the set closer, "Firewater," which comes complete with a boozy horn section that makes it sound like an outtake from the Band's Rock of Ages. The Wood Brothers aren't the second coming of the Band, of course (such a thing will most likely never happen), but they draw on the same wellspring of blues, gospel, folk, country, and R&B to arrive in a similar place, suggesting a rural America where myths are born and made real with music, a place where current fashion is useless, a place where a trip to the local juke for some backwoods jazzy honky tonk gospel blues is nigh near a trip to Heaven.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood -- the Wood Brothers -- grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and both left the area after graduating from high school, Oliver moving to Atlanta while Chris ended up in New York. Oliver, a guitarist, discovered he had a knack for writing songs and formed the blues-based King Johnson, which continues to do frequent gigs on the Southern circuit. Chris, a bassist, began playing jazz and rock in New York, eventually teaming up with John Medeski and Billy Martin to form the successful jazz-funk trio Medeski, Martin & Wood. The brothers began jamming together at family functions, and the duo's roots-inflected blend of blues, folk, and rock quickly took shape. They privately released the Live at Tonic EP, which was drawn from their first-ever public concert at New York's Tonic venue on March 5, 2005. Signed to Blue Note Records, the Wood Brothers released their debut album, Ways Not to Lose, in 2006. The album, which features drummer Kenny Wollesen on five tracks, was produced by John Medeski and recorded at Allarie Studios in Shokan, New York. The first in a proposed series of live releases, Live, Vol. 1: Sky High, appeared in the spring of 2012. The warm and wonderful The Muse, produced by Buddy Miller, arrived in the fall of 2013.
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/2:59
2 /Neon Tombstone
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:54
3 /Sing About It
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:41
4 /Honey Jar
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:58
5 /The Muse
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:20
6 /Keep Me Around
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/3:38
7 /Sweet Maria
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:18
8 /I Got Loaded/4:03
9 /Who the Devil
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:08
10 /Losin' Streak
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:12
11 /Firewater
Jano Rix / Chris Wood / Oliver Wood/4:02
Steven Herrman /Cornet, Guest Artist, Trumpet
Jim Hoke /Guest Artist, Horn Arrangements, Saxophone
Bill Huber /Guest Artist, Trombone, Trombone (Bass)
Anne McCrary /Guest Artist, Vocals (Background)
Regina McCrary /Guest Artist, Vocals (Background)
Buddy Miller /Guest Artist, Guitar (Baritone)
Jano Rix /Drums, Melodica, Percussion, Piano, Vocals
Chris Wood /Bass, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin, Vocals
Oliver Wood /Guitar, Mandocello, Vocals
REVIEW
by Steve Leggett
The Wood Brothers are hard to pin down -- they play a sort of Americana version of jazz, or country with an edge, or folk with some rhythmic bite, or maybe secular gospel with a touch of swing. At their best, they create the best blend of vernacular American roots music since the Band folded, and while there are a lot of neo-Americana bands out there who critics keep claiming sound like the Band, well, these guys actually do. The Buddy Miller-produced The Muse is their fourth album, and while the previous three releases were pretty darn great, this one is arguably even better, a step forward into a fuller, rounder, and more complete sound, anchored, as always, by Chris Wood's wonderful acoustic basslines (his day job is playing bass for Medeski, Martin & Wood) and Oliver Wood's backwoods vocal style and sharp, literate songwriting skills. This album is a gem, opening with the best song yet by the Band that wasn't written or recorded by the Band, "Wastin' My Mind," and continuing the feel with "Neon Tombstone," "Honey Jar," "Sweet Maria" (a bit of folk cabaret, really), the barroom ballad shuffle "I Got Loaded," and the set closer, "Firewater," which comes complete with a boozy horn section that makes it sound like an outtake from the Band's Rock of Ages. The Wood Brothers aren't the second coming of the Band, of course (such a thing will most likely never happen), but they draw on the same wellspring of blues, gospel, folk, country, and R&B to arrive in a similar place, suggesting a rural America where myths are born and made real with music, a place where current fashion is useless, a place where a trip to the local juke for some backwoods jazzy honky tonk gospel blues is nigh near a trip to Heaven.
BIOGRAPHY
by Steve Leggett
Brothers Oliver and Chris Wood -- the Wood Brothers -- grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and both left the area after graduating from high school, Oliver moving to Atlanta while Chris ended up in New York. Oliver, a guitarist, discovered he had a knack for writing songs and formed the blues-based King Johnson, which continues to do frequent gigs on the Southern circuit. Chris, a bassist, began playing jazz and rock in New York, eventually teaming up with John Medeski and Billy Martin to form the successful jazz-funk trio Medeski, Martin & Wood. The brothers began jamming together at family functions, and the duo's roots-inflected blend of blues, folk, and rock quickly took shape. They privately released the Live at Tonic EP, which was drawn from their first-ever public concert at New York's Tonic venue on March 5, 2005. Signed to Blue Note Records, the Wood Brothers released their debut album, Ways Not to Lose, in 2006. The album, which features drummer Kenny Wollesen on five tracks, was produced by John Medeski and recorded at Allarie Studios in Shokan, New York. The first in a proposed series of live releases, Live, Vol. 1: Sky High, appeared in the spring of 2012. The warm and wonderful The Muse, produced by Buddy Miller, arrived in the fall of 2013.
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