After reading the review of this week's featured band, I was intrigued. When
the reviewer would not stop mentioning their name, I was a bit more curious.
After finding the whole disc streaming off of Yahoo! Broadcast, I was ready
to put it up on the site. That's right, Nickel Creek are making waves with
their youthful revival of the bluegrass sound. So, open your ears and try a
different style!

GOT COMMENTS?? - We want your input on cMusicWeb.com! Send it to
webmaster@... or find me on ICQ or AOL IM.

UNSUBSCRIBE?? - Logon to http://groups.yahoo.com to do so, or drop us
an e-mail telling us why you're annoyed by hearing from us.


NICKEL CREEK - NICKEL CREEK (2000)
by Rick Foux

Growing up and living in southeast Texas for 20 years has made me realize
that I cannot deny my southern roots, no matter how hard I try. Especially
since I'm the world's foremost user of the word "ya'll." That's why I was
hooked from the instant my girlfriend let me borrow her Nickel Creek CD.
Some may scoff because they're a country/bluegrass group - I'm sure I'll
receive an influx of redneck jokes in my inbox for writing this review - but
I can't help but recommend this album to everyone. Unlike so many
stereotypical "I drank too much, beat my wife, shot my dog, and now I'm
depressed" country songs, the majority of Nickel Creek's music is
delightful, positive, and enchanting.

Nickel Creek is the conglomeration of three highly talented youths: Chris
Thile and Sara and Sean Watkins. While they're more widely known for country
music than in any Christian circles, they are indeed Christians and create
some very edifying music. Their debut album was produced by Alison Krauss,
who has made a few appearances in the Christian market herself. One need do
no more than listen to "The Hand Song" to hear the influence. Sara Watkins's
angelic voice blends perfectly with the melody of the accompanying
instruments to tell a story about a boy who is taught of Christ's love by
his mother. She reads to him from the Bible and explains that Jesus's death
on the cross was "how he hurt his hands." The child grasps an understanding
of this unconditional love as he grows older, eventually joins the army, and
sacrifices his own life for a friend. "The Lighthouse's Tale" is similarly a
tragic ending "story song," this time with Chris Thile taking lead vocals.
Not only is Thile's voice more than spectacular, but his mastery of the
mandolin forms a perfect harmony with Sara's violin. Sean's quick, dashed
strums on his guitar also aide the folk progressions of this track. "The
Lighthouse's Tale" and "The Hand Song" are probably the most definitive
Nickel Creek songs on this gold-selling debut, and without a doubt the most
worthy of a listen despite their depressing conclusions.

Not all is grim on this recording, however. There are several remaining
vocal tracks admirable for both musical and lyrical quality. "When You Come
Back Down" is my next personal favorite; the sound resembles the early work
of Caedmon's Call in most respects. Thile is at lead vocals again during
this ballad meant for someone aspiring to chase their dreams. Pure,
untarnished love is shown through the main lines of the chorus: "When you're
soarin' through the air / I'll be your solid ground / Take every chance you
dare / I'll still be there / when you come back down." The trio also boldly
ventures into some pop territory on "Reasons Why." Sean takes a blues
approach on the guitar as Sara sings about how easy it is to wander away
from God's calling and what it takes to get back on track. This tune
stresses how our excuses don't hold up when we come running back to God.
Picking up the pace, Nickel Creek brings us a traditional song entitled "The
Fox" that is just plain fun. This is pure country, folks, so put your square
dancing boots on. Thile's lyrics are fast-paced and at times you can almost
imagine Sara's violin setting off the smoke alarm. Moreover, the melody
bounces around in various places, bringing out several yet untouched highs
and lows from instruments and vocalists alike. Be warned though - if you're
not the old-school bluegrass type and afraid your friends will decorate your
front yard with cows, you should probably skip this track. Also skip-worthy
are "Sweet Afton" and "Out of the Woods," both remarkably slow, monotonous,
and never really go anywhere (although they employ the use of a weird
instrument known only as a "bazouki"...still trying to figure out what that
is).

Five instrumental pieces span the album's twelve tracks as well. The very
first, "Ode To a Butterfly," opens the disc with a springy, bluegrass flair
and introduces Thile as supreme lord of the banjo. Too bad this song is the
only place on the CD it appears. "In The House of Tom Bombadil" follows
suit, sounding much like some kind of southern Christmas song, merry and
joyful all the way. It also means that at least one of the three group
members is a Lord of the Rings fan, and they get major points for that.
Non-J.R.R. Tolkien related is "Robin and Marian," another instrumental which
relies heavily on longer violin strokes and more sophisticated guitar chords
to lend it a medieval sound. We're assuming Nickel Creek had kind of a Robin
Hood theme in mind for this one, and truly it sounds like something you'd
hear at a Renaissance Festival. Don't let the motif fool you; towards the
end of the tune it becomes increasingly more country-fied, breaking into a
brief, full-scale hoedown before sinking back into its comfortable, antique
style. Deserving honorable mention are "Cuckoo's Nest" and "Pastures New,"
although neither are interesting enough to describe here fully. You might
want to try them out on your own.

The members of Nickel Creek are still quite young - all three are in their
early twenties - and have some development to undergo on their craft, but
this self-titled release is a terrific display of how much they've already
encompassed. It's good to see country music taking a swing back towards its
roots, following the footsteps of Ricky Skaggs and other trailblazers. If
Nickel Creek keeps their positive message and doesn't take a major departure
from their current identity, they're sure to become country's next "big
thing," or possibly even a turning point from the industry's negativity.
Either way, young and old alike will enjoy this trio's tonality.

Find out more about Nickel Creek on cMusicWeb.com:
http://cMusicWeb.com/pop/nickelcreek

Listen to Nickel Creek's full CD online:
http://www.startupmusic.com/listeningparty/nickel_creek


WIN CREATION STUFF
More winners will be chosen for the Creation Festival giveaway this week, so
check your e-mail often to find an e-mail from us! You can win Creation
Videos or the Creation Worships disc.


LIVE FROM SONSHINE 2002!
SonShine 2002 starts tomorrow afternoon, July 11. I will be there, and will
be logging each day's events for your enjoyment. The forecast is sunny and
cool, so it should be a great weekend! We hope to update the site every
night with the daily report, so check back later this weekend.


OTHER NEW STUFF ON cMUSICWEB.COM
Review: Take Two - Ill Harmonics
http://cMusicWeb.com/hiphop/illharmonics/taketwo.shtml

Review: BK & Associates - BK & Associates
http://cMusicWeb.com/hiphop/bkandassociates/bkandassociates.shtml

Review: Nickel Creek - Nickel Creek
http://cMusicWeb.com/pop/nickelcreek/nickelcreek.shtml


Thanks for reading this week's cMusicMail, and we'll be back next week with
even more great content. If you have any comments or questions, please reply
to this e-mail or send them to webmaster@... We'd love to hear
from you!

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music