If you thought that the first Wayfaring Strangers album, Shifting Sands of Time, was a delightful novelty, an act of a musicians' collective gathered together for one shining project that married country, bluegrass, jazz from New Orleans to post-bop, and world music and pulled it off, thankfully you were wrong. As a band, the Wayfaring Strangers -- including vocalists Tracy Bonham, Ruth Ungar, and Aoife O'Donovan, pianist Laszlo Gardony, percussionist James Haddad, banjo boss Tony Trischka, violinist Matt Glaser, bassist ...
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If you thought that the first Wayfaring Strangers album, Shifting Sands of Time, was a delightful novelty, an act of a musicians' collective gathered together for one shining project that married country, bluegrass, jazz from New Orleans to post-bop, and world music and pulled it off, thankfully you were wrong. As a band, the Wayfaring Strangers -- including vocalists Tracy Bonham, Ruth Ungar, and Aoife O'Donovan, pianist Laszlo Gardony, percussionist James Haddad, banjo boss Tony Trischka, violinist Matt Glaser, bassist Jim Whitney, and guitarist John McGann -- are a full-time entity, and on their sophomore effort they bring back many of the same guests from their first outing, including Andy Statman and Darol Anger, and recruit Jay Ungar and Molly Mason as well. The program this time out relies more on traditional material such as the stalwart country gospel tune that Bonham turns inside out that is both the title track and opening number. O'Donovan fronts a moving rendition of "When the Golden Leaves Begin to Fall" with a stunning piano solo by Gardony. Statman and Anger turn the old fiddle tune "Cluck Old Hen" into a dark, nefarious klezmer tune, before it erupts with Ungar and Bruce Molsky whipping it into a backcountry barnyard frenzy. Ruth Ungar's vocal on "Lazy John" is positively moving in its depth and breadth as it careens over the fiddles and banjo or the trio of singers on the virtually stunning "Sit Down Servant," where Delta blues, New Orleans jazz, country gospel, bluegrass, and strange Eastern modalism all come together to swirl into an organically transcendent groove. Even without the guest appearances by Ralph Stanley and Jennifer Kimball on Shifting Sands of Time, This Train, like its predecessor, is one of the most gratifying, provocative, and original takes on true roots American music -- as it comes from the rest of the world -- on record. It is simply moving and beautiful. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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