Nickel Creek - Why Should the Fire Die?
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Nickel CreekEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2005-08-09
Music Label: Sugarhill
Soundtracks:
- When in Rome
- Somebody More Like You
- Jealous of the Moon
- Scotch & Chocolate
- Can't Complain
- Tomorrow is a Long Time
- Eveline
- Stumptown
- Anthony
- Best of Luck
- Doubting Thomas
- First and Last Waltz
- Helena
- Why Should the Fire Die?
Free Music Notes for Why Should the Fire Die?
Free Music Review: mishmash 2.0 ... a revised review
Hit: 3 Stars
I bought this album on a bit of a whim. I sampled the tracks and immediately recognized "Somebody More Like You" from airplay on a local college radio station. Unsurprisingly, it turns out to be my favorite song on the album, not to mention the only one that was penned by Sean Watkins alone.
I suppose the reason I can't give this CD a higher rating is primarily due to the lyrics. Whether cryptic (as in "Eveline") or straight-forward (as in "Anthony"), I have a hard time caring about these narratives. Some of the words seem written for filler to make a complete song; as if the songwriters really didn't have much to say. One exception to this is "Doubting Thomas," and whether or not one finds offense in the theme, it's one of the most honest songs on the album.
Musically, the interplay of the stringed instruments is often the best part of the songs, but oddly enough the instrumental tracks seem lacking. Strange chord progressions make "Eveline" and "Best of Luck" hard to listen to. The singing is also a mixed bag. I really enjoy the harmonizing, but the parts that are belted out just grate on my nerves, such as on "Best of Luck" and the ends of "Can't Complain" and "Helena" (an otherwise beautiful song).
In the end, this is something a little bit beyond bluegrass or folk music. Perhaps with more listens I'll understand it better. I think it might be worth the effort.
Why Should the Fire Die? Poster
Why Should the Fire Die? is Nickel Creek's first album without Alison Krauss in the producer's chair, and on it, the trio's genre-expanding acoustic music has shifted even farther away from its bluegrass origins. The opening "When in Rome" perfectly encapsulates the aggressive approach the band favors, and features poetic lyrics far more obtuse than those of most groups with similar roots. The disc's first half stays rooted in a fairly conventional folk mode, with a lovely cover of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is a Long Time" (one of the few solo vocal turns from fiddler Sara Watkins) and "Jealous of the Moon" (cowritten with the Jayhawks' Gary Louris) obvious highlights.But the album gradually grows darker. The songs take unexpected twists that are challenging and unconventional, while still emphasizing those angelic vocal harmonies that float and sting. Chris Thile's peppy instrumental "Stumptown" leads into the menacing "Best of Luck," with its edgy minor-key chorus echoed by Watkins's deceptively sweet voice spitting out lyrics of an obsessive high-school love affair gone wrong. And the drums of "Helena," one of the group's most radical compositions, bring out Nickel Creek's inner Coldplay. Not a complete break with their bluegrass beginnings, Why Should the Fire Die? is certainly the trio's boldest and most creative album, albeit one that might not appeal to their earliest fans. --Hal HorowitzCountry Music CDs
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