WBB regular Rich Morris sent me a preview of the latest offering from M Shanghai String Band a couple of weeks ago. I’ve kept it on heavy rotation on my iPod since then.
Most people have a set of desert-island CDs that they’d want to accompany them should they be stranded on an island that just happened to have a CD player. I’d forsake any CD if I could simply bring my two desert-island musicians with me: Beedge and Rich. I’d be perfectly happy never hearing another piece of recorded music for the rest of my life if I knew I could spend everyday playing with these guys.
When Rich makes music, genre plays second fiddle to the musicality. That’s especially clear with the MSSB recordings he’s been sending my way. The tracks are acoustic-based anachronisms that sound so modern that it’s impossible to place them in time.
Rich produced and mixed the album and listening to it is a lot like eating a family dinner made of really simple ingredients but prepared with care and affection. There are several stand-out tracks and it was difficult to narrow it down to just one that captures the gestalt of From the Air. So, here are two cuts that should give you a feel:
Manhattan Lover: Reminds me of New Riders of the Purple Sage. Some of the players get to stretch out with some chops here.
No Home In This World: Nothing wasted. It’d be easy to just have some gratuitous performers here and there. Each instrument and voice (and there are lots of them) plays an essential part in the overall sound.
According to Rich you should be able to get your hands on this CD pretty soon. In the meantime, you can grab their first release, Up From The Ground Below over at CD Baby. You can also check out more at their website or over at MySpace.
The M Shanghai String Band is:
Austin Hughes - vocal, guitar
Philippa Thompson - vocal, fiddle, guitar, accordion, washboard, saw
Matt Schickele - vocal, guitar
Harrison Cannon - acoustic bass, vocal
John Shanchuck - clawhammer banjo, vocal
Patty Hughes - banjo, vocal
Richard Morris - mandolin, ocatve mandolin, vocal
Glendon Jones - fiddle, tres, vocal
Corin See - vocal
Dave Pollack - harmonica, vocal
Rose Thompson - vocal, guitar
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Jim, as a grateful guest at your own dinner table on many ocassions, I especially appreciate the home cooking simile!
Excellent stuff Rich!
Thanks, JJ.
We play the first Saturday of the month at The M Shanghai Den in Williamsburg - c’mon by!