So Long of a Journey: Live at the Boulder Theater
Through the 1980s, Hot Rize's virtuosic brand of bluegrass combined eclectic progressivism with bedrock traditionalism, earning a following that extended well beyond the young quartet's home base of Boulder, Colorado. Though vocalist-mandolinistTim O'Briensubsequently moved further beyond bluegrass convention as a solo artist, focusing more on his original material, the band's reunion concerts in the '90s remained popular affairs. This recording of a 1996 homecoming performance at the Boulder Theater finds the foursome in spirited form, with a generous selection of 20 cuts. From the spiritual call-and-response of "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" and "Working on a Building" toPete Wernick's banjo breakdown on "Empty Pocket Blues" to the Irish romp through "Colleen Malone," a signature tune for the group, the interplay has the feel of friends who plainly enjoy each other's musical company. The belated release also serves as a memorial to guitaristCharles Sawtelle, whose thoughtful, bluesy progressions give the music a unique dimension, and who died of leukemia in 1999.--Don McLeese