Name: Czechmate par Druha Trava
Brand: Druha Trava
SKU: 731455766622
Price: 9.9 USD
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 3 (84 reviews)

ALBUM

As if the idea of a Czech bluegrass band isn't enough of a head-turner, Druha Trava tackles some bizarre material on this, the group's first record released outside Central Europe. Chick Corea's "Spain" as a banjo workout? King Henry VIII's "Greensleeves" as an Appalachian ballad? A hoedown based on a dance from Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride? (The band is tapping into more than one set of roots on that one.) The amazing thing is that all of these experiments work out pretty well. So does some, but not all, of the band's original material. Vocalist Robert Krest'an has a pleasing voice, but his command of English lyrics wasn't fully developed and in some cases his songs are unintentionally funny. If you listen to his voice as music, the songs are quite decent, and regardless of such quibbles there is plenty to like on this album. Druha Trava is such a good band that even the weirdest material sounds great, and a lot of the cuts here are first-rate. Banjo virtuoso Lubos Malina contributes excellent playing throughout the album, as well as an instrumental called "Brazos Bottom" that ought to become a bluegrass standard everywhere. That mutated version of Smetana is pretty fine too, and the version of Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee" is about as different from the original as you can get, but it sounds wonderful. As an introduction to a crack band that takes plenty of risks and has most of them pay off, Czechmate is a disc worth seeking out.

1. El santo dia

par Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Druha Trava; Interprète principal
Compositeur: Robert Krestan; Compositeur
Parolier: Robert Krestan; Compositeur
Composer Lyricist: Robert Krestan; Autre

2. Spain

par Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Druha Trava; Interprète principal
Compositeur: Chick Corea; Compositeur
Parolier: Chick Corea; Compositeur
Composer Lyricist: Chick Corea; Autre

3. Greensleeves

par Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Druha Trava; Interprète principal
Compositeur: Traditional; Compositeur
Parolier: Traditional; Compositeur
Composer Lyricist: Traditional; Autre

4. Before the Bell Tolls

par Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Druha Trava; Interprète principal
Compositeur: Robert Krestan; Compositeur
Parolier: Robert Krestan; Compositeur
Composer Lyricist: Robert Krestan; Autre

5. Rest Beside Me, Sara

par Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Druha Trava; Interprète principal
Compositeur: Robert Krestan; Compositeur
Auteur: Robert Krestan
Roman Kostovski; Production

6. Brazos Bottom

par Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Druha Trava; Interprète principal
Compositeur: Lubos Malina; Compositeur
Parolier: Lubos Malina; Compositeur
Composer Lyricist: Lubos Malina; Autre

7. Wild Horses

par Robert Křesťan, Druhá Tráva

Artiste Principal: Robert Krestan
Druha Trava
Andy Owens; Interprète principal
Banjo: Lubos Malina; Interprète
Dobro: Lubos Novotny; Interprète
Batterie: Jiri Zelenka; Interprète
Guitare: Martin Ledvina; Interprète
Guitare Lap Steel: Lubos Novotny; Interprète
Interprète: Lubos Malina
Lubos Novotny
Jiri Zelenka
Martin Ledvina
Andy Owens
Robert Krestan; Interprète
Saxophone: Lubos Malina; Interprète
Voix: Andy Owens
Robert Krestan; Interprète
Compositeur: Mick Jagger
Keith Richards; Compositeur
Parolier: Keith Richards
Mick Jagger; Compositeur
Producteur: Luboš Malina; Production
Composer Lyricist: Keith Richards
Mick Jagger; Autre