NITTY GRITTY DIRT BAND
Welcome to Woody Creek
Dualtone
· Older than dirt, but still sounding good.
Although the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has been around for almost four decades now, Welcome to Woody Creek is the group’s first studio album in more than five years. Will it vault them into the spotlight the way the 1972 album Will The Circle Be Unbroken or the 1980s radio hit "Fishin’ in the Dark" did? No – but it’s a pleasant album nonetheless.
The latest incarnation of the band is a quintet (banjoist John McEuen is back after a long hiatus), but their four-part harmonies are as strong as ever. That results in some pretty songs, such as "Jealous Moon" and "Safe Back Home." Some of the material – "Forever Don’t Last" and "It’s a New Day" – could easily find a home on mainstream country radio, although it’s not nearly as obnoxious as some of the songs you hear there. Not all of the tracks are successful – reworking the Beatles’ classic "Get Back" in a bluegrass style just doesn’t work and "It’s Morning" has a John Denver-esque easy-listening feel to it. But the understated closing instrumental "Midnight at Woody Creek" should leave both long-time fans and new listeners generally happy.
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