Chris Thile & Michael Daves

[memphismandolin]

Received the new Chris Thile and Michael Daves album in the mail today. Really enjoying it! I would love to hear others reactions as they hear it and also wondering if some folks could recommend some other albums that go along these lines.

[Darren Bailey]

I too spent my first day with this recording and I'm very impressed with it. The power in Thile's playing is astounding. He manages to hit those strings like I never knew he could but without losing any of his accuracy. There isn't any bluster, just a driving energy. It isn't until track 7 that we first hear something more typical of the subtle playing we know Thile does so well.
Daves is a tremendous guitar player and his voice works very well with Thile's. At times it sounds as though they could have had just a little more time to sort out the timing of the harmonies - but in truth this adds not detracts from the effect of the music. It leaves you with the sense of "live in the studio". The interview they did reveals they performed either side of a single mic. If this is the case throughout the album I'm just amazed. They manage to get the volume level just peefect between their voices and instruments on almost all the tracks.
I suspect that as great as I think this album is, and I'm sure they'll have a lot of fun touring it, the duo won't be a long term thing for Thile. I hope I'm wrong, but knowing how versatile he is, and how delicate his playing can be, I don't think playing in this style could keep his interest for a long time. To me it's the best thing i've heard him play on, but he doesn't strike me as the kind to want to play is such a narrow groove without pulling off into other directions.
One last thing. So often when listening to albums I focus almost exclusively on the mandolin. Here though the set up is so paired down that for my ears the mandolin plays a much better part of the whole. I found myself drawn much more than usual into the songs rather than listening out for breaks and fills. Maybe because the mandolin is just such a constant presence across the album I got taken up with it.
This music leaves me feeling very satisfied. I hope they make another!

[Rob Fowler]

There's a whole thread on this subject already with peoples varied opinions on the recording, all their videos, etc. that can be seen here