Post by jptheprofessor on May 20, 2007 22:33:50 GMT -5
LUMPY GRAVY – GRASSHOPPER (no label) The Williamsport-based jam band Lumpy Gravy first formed in 1998, and issued their first CD, Mango, in 2002. The current edition of the group features founding members Owen Macdonald on guitar and vocals and Doug McMinn on guitar, sax and vocals; along with Jimmy Lovcik on bass and Aaron Sauers on drums. Their second CD, [Grasshopper, serves up a spicy gravy of sounds, as Lumpy Gravy mixes elements of rock, jazz, funk, blues and reggae over the album's dozen tracks. As jam-styled music goes, this is a tight album that displays concise, direct grooves. The rhythms are constantly busy, with Lovcik's animated bass work riding along Sauers’ steady and playful beats, and the guitars and sax efficiently surrounding and coloring in the sound along the way, with nary a note wasted. Lumpy Gravy demonstrates a variety of styles within their jam-based context here, from the driving funk-rock of the opener “Read All About It,” “Think of a Summer Day” and “Guitar Diner” to the Chili Pepper-ish tones of “Bar Song;” from the jazz/funk-informed title song “Grasshopper,” “River” and “Joy” to the Stonesy country/blues rock of “Your Loss;” and from the delta blues-flavored “Headin’ North” to the reggae tastes of “Go ‘Head” and the playful “Cowboy George.” Each song is a keeper, with Lumpy Gravy’s instrumental nip-and-tuck constantly serving the melodies, without the wasteful noodling often associated with jam music. Recorded at Green Valley Recording in Hughesville and produced by Doug McMinn, Grasshopper sounds clean and well-balanced, with all the instrumental voices clearly heard in the mix. Lumpy Gravy serves up some delicious and zesty grooves on Grasshopper; a flowing and consistent album that fans of Allman Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Blues Traveler-like musical adventures should savor. (The CD can be obtained through Lumpy Gravy's Myspace website, www.myspace.com/lumpygravyband.)