CD Review

Suffice to say Welcome to Woody Creek is the first Nitty Gritty Dirt Band album to make its way into my ears attention. The NGDB is a household name. We’ve all heard of them, but chances are we’ve never heard them (myself included). At the same time, we all know they play country music. But to be comfortable with the brevity and vague nature of a two-word description is to be happy with simple definitions. It’s akin to saying George Bush is president. While true, I’m not content with leaving it at that- but this isn’t the place to get vulgar.

Woody Creek is a country road collision between the reliable green tractor pulling slide guitar, fiddle, and banjo and the rural rocking musings of a Frey/Henley collaboration. See “Party on the Mountain” and the Nitty Gritty interpretation of the Beatles “Get Back” for proof positive of the band’s traditionalist leanings and “Jealous Moon” and “Any Love But Our Love” for the hell freezing, lyin’ eyes-ish offerings. PS. It was The Eagles that borrowed heavily from them, and not the other way around.

A song that doesn’t fall into either camp, but may in fact be this year’s hot country single waiting to hatch, is the positivity charged, “It’s a New Day”. Buried towards the end of this solid effort, it’s an anthem as contagious as the chicken pox- even if you can’t stand country music you’ll itch for this ditty.

I’ve admitted to not having much history with the band’s catalog, but if that’s the NGDB signature sound and feel that’s keeping this record in my truck- I could get real familiar with the gang.

"Welcome To Woody Creek" will be available in stores on September 21st.