MIKE MARSHALL & CHRIS THILE
Into The Cauldron (Sugar Hill)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Mike Marshall has long been one of the country's most respected mandolinists, in his own right and as an A-list fixture on countless sessions. Chris Thile came to prominence as a member of the youthful bluegrass group Nickel Creek, but has already established an impressive track record as a solo artist himself. On the surface, this meeting of the Old Master and the Young Lion seems promising enough. In the grooves (oh, alright, in the encoded digital information), it's even better than I imagined.

The duo could have had a fine time and produced a fine album just sticking to the tried and true, I'm sure. Knock off some bluegrass standards, take a bow, sell a whole bunch of discs, right? Well, there's bluegrass here, sure enough, and some Bach, some Bird, some Brazilian and some stuff straight out of the fertile minds of the talented pair themselves. They elected to challenge themselves and one another, an in the process to delight their audience. Now it's just a matter of selling a bunch of discs. Part of that's up to you. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Track List:

Harvest Time * Desvairada * J.S. Bach: The Goldberg Variations * Scrapple From The Apple * Fisher's Hornpipe * Stranded In Kodiak * The Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers * Hey Ho! * Something Quite Trifling * What A Blast! * Shamrock Shore

© 2003 - Shaun Dale