An Incident to remember

For their first studio release in more than three years, The String Cheese Incident brought in Los Lobos producer Steve Berlin and created a gem of an album. The Colorado-based group's bluegrass roots are cleverly intertwined with soul, reggae and R&B flavors to make a wonderfully put together record. The massive amount of time spent touring in that three-year absence from the studio is apparent on almost every track on the record. I would find it difficult to skip tracks on this album -- you would be missing something if you did.\nThere are obvious standouts on the record. The keyboard work on "Joyful Sound" brings flattering comparisons to the Dead and Widespread Panic. But any comparison to those two bands is completely discarded in songs like "Close Your Eyes" and "Drifting." String Cheese has embarked on its own style and sound, and at the same time distanced itself from their peers in almost every category. \nThe most surprising thing about this record is the dimming of String Cheese's bluegrass influence. While it still does exist, the band has opted for a wider range of musical styling on this record -- a better indication of the band's live show. The band's bluegrass roots are still at the heart of the music, but built around it is a carefully orchestrated mix of music that makes this album one of the finest "jam band" records to come out in recent memory. It's almost out of place when the band returns to its mountain-music origins on the album's final track, "Up the Canyon." \nAs far as "jam band" music goes, you can't get much better than the String Cheese Incident. On its latest effort, the band has done something few of their peers have done: transport their live show effectively into the studio to make a great record. This album will prove to be wonderful live, as much of it has already. Let's just hope it doesn't take three years to get another fix of this highly talented group.