But after all is said and done, I'd rather listen to the Chattertocks pouring their hearts into Aire than listen to a slicker production of something more bankrupt of vitality. Steve Revilak's production was average on this album. And considering the talent he worked with, that's a shame. The mics are great and it's a very clean sound, but the effects are inconsistent and the mixing and EQs are off, sometimes muted, sometimes overly bright. This CD didn't grab me quite as strongly as did Take It To The Bridge .
Blend is still quite good, tuning still together overall.
Maybe it's that I miss some of last year's powerhouse voices who graduated. Maybe the arrangements didn't impress me as being as original as on the previous album. I suspect my problem is that the Chattertocks set a very high bar for themselves, and this CD doesn't quite measure up to the high expectations I have left over from their earlier work. Not to say this is overall a weak album. Some parts are strong, and some are simply lacking a little something.