This is some mighty mandolinin', from Canada's eight-string king.
Happy both singing and playing, Collins gives us the best of both worlds
over these two sets, one all vocals and the other instrumentals. Like
all good bluegrass players, he has a sense of humour in his choices, as
well as a sense of adventure. On the instrumental side, that sees him
rework Pink Floyd's Goodbye Blue Sky, while on the vocals disc (the
Tongue one, of course), he has a go at everyone from Nick Drake to Roger
Miller to The Hollies. A relaxed singer with that rustic quality to his
vocals, he turns both Just A Gigolo and King Midas In Reverse into
numbers that sound like folk wisdom.
When
it comes to the pure playing on Groove, the whole trio shines, and shows
off some multi-instrumental skills as well. Collins moves from mandolin
to mandocello to violin. Mike Mezzatesta handles guitar, mandolin, and
violin, and James McEleney covers bass and bowed acoustic double-bass,
depending on the needs. This lets them jam in imaginative combos such as
dueling mandolins on David Grisman's classic Dawg Grass, twin fiddles
on Collins' own Kentakaya Waltz, and several jazz/bluegrass numbers
featuring fast tempos or old-time fun. There's tremendous interplay
among the trio as they come up with twists and turns, always in glorious
harmony. As much as I love the story-telling on Tongue, my jaw dropped
over Groove.
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