Tricopolis Records-CD Reviews-September 1999

Lark In The Morning
Out Of The Blue
Coat And Hat
Darlin' Come Back To Me
Where Will I Go
Flower In The Desert
Julian
White River
More Than Words Could Ever Say
Pain Of A Troubled Life
May He Be The Power

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Beautiful is a word that perhaps has been bandied about a little too much. It's lost some of its luster to the point where writers and speakers look for something stronger to convey what that word has ably stated for centuries.

Simply and honestly put, More Than Words... is beautiful music. From Sheri's angelic country vocals to her band's inspired harmony vocals and instrumental work, this is one stand-out CD, an exquisite collection of songs, especially for a opening album.

Sheri has a very definite talent with the pen as well, authoring seven of the 11 pieces here and rounding out her fine works with lovely arrangements of Ron Block's "Pain of a Troubled Life," Carl Jackson's "Flower in the Desert," Kate MacLeod's "Lark in the Morning," and Bob Wallis' "Coat and Hat."

Every song is a gem in it's own right; each sets up its own little ripples of emotion that only seem to grow the more one listens. Sheri's talents extend to composing, arranging, and performing traditional country/bluegrass ("Darlin' Come Back to Me") to Gospel ("Where Will I Go"), to progressive ("Out of the Blue"). "Coat and Hat" especially is quite moving. In Sheri and Company's capable hands, this bittersweet tale about love's transcendence over death will draw a tear with its poignant lyrics and powerful vocal and instrumental work. "Where Will I Go" and "May He Be The Power" are inspiring Gospel harmony at its best.

Dave Richardson, capable as always on harmony vocals and guitar, banjo (he lays down some stirring banjo lines on many of these pieces), piano, and acoustic bass, does a fine job producing this album as well. Nothing is over- or under-done; each musician knows exactly what phrase will do what is needed. Sara and Sean Watkins, Southern California's talented brother-sister prodigies on fiddle, mandolin and guitar turn in the usual stellar performances their fans have come to expect. Dave Dias is among the finest, most tasteful Dobro players anywhere; Mike Nadolson does a fine job on stirring lead bluegrass-style guitar and harmony vocals, likewise Dean Knight on dependable, solid acoustic bass and harmony vocals.

If this CD suffers anywhere, it might be in the cover art. A little dark in shading, it could be brightened up a little to help draw attention. Minor problem, though; once word gets around, music stores are going to sell out quickly. This lady has a very promising future.

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The Cache Valley Drifters "mightyfine.net "

MightyFine Records V1.0

By: Dave Richardson
Tricopolis Staff Writer
August 30, 1999

Playing time: 50:12

Rings
Evangelina
The Man You Are
Drift Away
Damn Your Eyes
Hollywood Waltz
Eyes of a Painter
Rhode Island Bride
Delta Lady
Rounders
Someplace Far Away

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I was standing on the top of a hill one night in the early 1990’s at the Follows Camp Bluegrass Festival in Azusa, California. The sun had gone down behind the mountains, but I could see the lighted stage from my vantage point. The Cache Valley Drifters had started their set, and I stood mesmerized at the polish and uniqueness of this group. This was the first time I had ever heard this wonderful band, and I became a fan that night.

It turns out that the Cache Valley Drifters, or known in their present logo, CVD, has been a mainstay of the folk and bluegrass scene in California since the 80’s. Their past album, White Room won national acclaim with its unusual character. For a bluegrass band to tackle pieces like "Boy in the Bubble" and "White Room" with style, excitement, and grace, grabbed many new followers, even those outside the bluegrass and folk music realm. In this, their latest release, mightyfine.net, the emphasis seems to be on storytelling rather than flashiness. I know a record is good when I find myself humming the tunes and thinking of the words during the activities of the day.

The CVD are Wally Barnick, Bill Griffin, and Mike Mullins. These guys are first and foremost wonderful musicians, and they play their instruments on each selection with taste and integrity. Each of the band members also gets a chance to perform vocal leads on this album. Most of the lead singing is done by Wally Barnick, who won me over by his phrasing alone. Bill Griffin’s vocal on "The Man You Are" along with the words to this profound song are stunning examples of the importance of lyrics in music. This is poetry and storytelling at its best. Mike Mullins does a nice job on his "Rhode Island Bride", a civil war love song. There are not too many of these around, and Mike proves here that he is a first rate song writer as well as performer.

Special kudos go to Dennis Caplinger. Although he has appeared on numerous west coast albums, he seems almost chameleon-like in his ability to play with any group in a seamless manner. He is truly one of the best all time musicians around. Not to be left out is guest, Michael Gutin, who played accordion to provide that beautiful curtain of sound on "Rounders."

Its difficult to place the CVD in any kind of pigeon hole except to say that to my ear they seem to be an acoustic combination of The Birds, New Grass Revival, Beach Boys, and the Dillards. The lyrical quality in their music can be most probably attributed to their kinship with the late, immortal songstress, Kate Wolf. If there is any truth to the "west coast sound", then the Cache Valley Drifters are it.

mightyfine.net will bring hours of listening enjoyment for you. The recording quality is excellent and warm, but this is not traditional bluegrass by any stretch of the imagination. It is simply good music.

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Chad Clouse "In The Midst"

Stonehouse Records CD-0101

By: Dale Desmuke
Tricopolis Staff Writer
September 13th. 1999

Playing time: 47 : 17

Swamp Light
Mango Tango
Chasing The Gingerbread Man
Living In The Wind
Cicada Serenada
Winding Minds
Gravel Walk To Granny's
Tiny Monster
Circus Train
Up The Lazy River

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The San Francisco area has long been a gathering place for stylistic musical hotrodders. They love mixing and matching parts from different genres and coming up with a tune that maybe started out bluegrass but now has the engine from a gypsy melody and wheels from a jazz riff added on. Chad Clouse is a fiddler with a taste for New Acoustic, Newgrass, Dawg music, call it what you will.

Chad and his producers, Jim Nunally and Darol Anger, have gathered some of the brightest lights on the West Coast and a couple from Nashville. Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, Todd Phillips go back to the early David Grisman Quintet. Scott Nygaard of Laurie Lewis. David Grier, Rob Ickes and Scott Vestal are blazing new trails from trad bluegrass to whatever crosses their minds. It must be heady company to play in, but young Clouse is up to the task.

He certainly has the technical abilities, but what really impresses are his compositional skills. Clouse penned seven of the eleven selections and he has absorbed a multitude of styles. "Mango Tango" is Latin-influenced, as the name suggests, and is radio ready for any of the smooth jazz stations. "Cicada Serenade" is a bouncy tune with hints of Celtic and solid bluegrass kick. "Winding Minds" is a strong Celtic flavored tune with a slight New Agey feel and strong support by Michael Manring on bass, David Revelli and the great Darol Anger.

Chad’s brother, Chris, provides the only sung number. It was "Living In The Wind" an acoustic pop number that worked well with the great banjo work of Scott Vestal and the fretless bass of Chris Autry. I understand that the brothers perform together and it would be interesting to hear an entire album of their collaborations.

Throughout this review I have mentioned the contributions of the various participants but this is Chad Clouse’s recording and he does an outstanding job of making his mark in all of these configurations. My personal favorite is his reading of "Up A Lazy River", the Hoagy Carmichael tune. Chad and company just do a wonderful rendition of this song. The bass, Todd Phillips, is just perfect, Scott Nygaard is Mr. Taste on guitar and Darol Anger does a tasty little lead on octave mandolin. But again, the star is Mr. Clouse, all slippery slidery in the swing tradition. I believe we will be hearing a bunch more from him. I certainly hope so. I would love to hear him do an album of Django Reinhardt/Stephane Grappelli tunes with John Jorgenson of Desert Rose fame. That would be special.

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