Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Welcome to Woody Creek

(Dualtone)

First Appeared in The Music Box, October 2004, Volume 11, #10

Written by John Metzger

Despite its countless country hits, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band forever will be known as the ensemble that, in 1972, organized the star-studded, blockbuster-selling, boundary-breaking effort Will the Circle Be Unbroken. In fact, the phenomenon weighs so heavily upon the group’s legacy that it has returned to this concept not once, but twice within the past 15 years in an attempt to resuscitate its rapidly dwindling exposure in an increasingly narrow music market. While its latest outing Welcome to Woody Creek isn’t a similarly-styled, celebrity-packed affair, it does contain a wealth of songs that exude the laid-back charm that the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has relayed with effortless ease during the finest moments of its career. Both the tender ballad Jealous Moon, with its tight-knit harmonies and blues-laced guitar, as well as the breezy pop of Any Love But Our Love highlight how much influence the group had upon the early ’70s Southern California scene, while the twang-y rock of Forever Don’t Last illuminates the power it held over progressive bluegrass outfits such as Leftover Salmon. Elsewhere, Walkin’ in the Sunshine sparkles with its perky, classic rock sheen, and The Beatles’ Get Back is transformed into a whirling, banjo-driven jam session. Unfortunately, the few missteps taken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on Welcome to Woody Creek — most notably She and Old Time’s Sake — are duller than watching paint dry, and as a result, they devastatingly mar an otherwise warm and wonderful collection.

Welcome to Woody Creek is available
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2004 The Music Box