MOUNTAIN OF VENUS
Live Volume 1 (Self-released)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Live Volume 1 kicks off a planned series of live releases by Mountain Of Venus, a Boston based jamband, while they prepare their second studio effort for release later this year. The album documents a show in Boston on 8/19/01 with guest keyboardist C.R. Gruver sitting in with the regular quintet.

Originally formed in Colorado, members of MOV come from places as diverse as New York City and New Orleans. After establishing a Rocky Mountain fanbase, they headed east, welcoming the challenges of the competitive Boston music scene. They seem to have mastered that challenge, with steady gigs in the New England region, including a regular spot at the Cambridge House Of Blues.

The reason for that success will be apparent to listeners to Live Volume 1. Vocalist Tanya Shylock has an impressive set of pipes that blend seamlessly with vocalist/guitarist Jody Cohen, and it's the voices that provide the most distinctive feature of their sound. With all five members contributing to the songwriting, they're able to cull the best contributions from each to create a set of diverse but consistently strong tunes to weave their jams around. The only question mark the album leaves me with is what they might sound like in the absence of their guest keyboardist. Gruver's work is so effective that it seems almost necessary. Is a band expansion in order? Maybe. I'd have to hear the quintet on its own to be sure, and there's enough good stuff on this disc to inspire a desire to do so.

Track List:

Said & Done * One More Time * Jesse * Higher Ground * Hate To Lose Your Lovin' * Over The Sky * Dreams * Your Own Way

© 2002 - Shaun Dale