csberry

The trio's close harmonies is the key to enjoying this album. The songs are good, but it is the sound they make when harmonizing that makes these songs special. Strip out the layers of vocals and you'd have good songs that could easily be imagined on a Nick Drake, Cat Stevens, or some other singer-songwriter album. But not all tracks are tame "singer-songwriter," the group does attempt to rock out on a few tracks such as "Marrakesh Express" and "Pre-Road Downs." For me, "Marrakesh Express" is so stuck in the late 60's that I have a love/hate relationship with it. Strip out the Eastern influences and change the lyrics and I'd think the song is pretty good. How it stands, though, I find the chant at the beginning and the Marrakesh storyline to be from some strange world that doesn't resemble the one I'm in or am familiar with...which makes it harder for me to be as excited as Graham wants the listener to be when listening to it.

Songs I knew I liked: "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Long Time Gone"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Guinnevere," "You Don't Have to Cry," "Pre-Road Downs," and "49 Bye-Byes"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "Lady of the Island" and, to a lesser extent, "Wooden Ships"