Chemystry Set - Cobblestone Below My Feet . . . and other tales of devils and onions.Dickie Ogden - Drums
Joel Oppenheimer - Bass
Patty Hughes - Wurlitzer Piano, Farfisa Organ, Vocals
Baba John White - Ukelele, Electric Mandolin, Vocals
Sven Eberlein - Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Vocals
Cobblestone Below My Feet (mp3 sampler)
Music as wild and roaming as the imagination of the unknown
Produced by Dickie Ogden and thy Set, Chemystry Set's fifth CD, Cobblestone Below My Feet, ferments three years of travel, storytelling, friendships, and recording magic into a rich and highly intoxicating elixir. On their fifth release, the band that has made a name for itself over the last ten years with boundary-defying music and message-driven songs is coming of age in this beautifully dynamic tapestry of tightly-arranged and rockin' compositions. Written during and after their 2003 European tour, Cobblestone Below My Feet is an invitation across language, culture, and consciousness. Like a carriage ride through history, hitting the cobblestone with an amalgam of sounds and an ever-fresh poetic luminescence, this album takes the listener into another time zone, all along establishing connections not only to the present, but the future of humanity.
Yowza!!! Chemystry Set is blazing away here at this very moment. It's a kick-butt extravaganza of expectations-defying, post-modern wonder. The louder it gets the better it gets, and it keeps getting louder.
-Steven Forrest
This eccentric, fun disc made me remember why I first fell in love with the Grateful Dead - at least until late in the band's life, the Dead always tried to give you something no one else would or could. So, listening to Chemystry Set's ambitious Cobblestone Below My Feet in the same spirit of openness that made me appreciate the Dead's Aoxomoxoa or Anthem of the Sun, I realized that Chemystry Set is one adventurously cool (or is it coolly adventurous?) bunch. The title track veers between breakneck-paced and anthemically soulful (with a guitar solo seemingly influenced by Journey's "Lights," and that's OK by me). "What We've Got" simmers into to a riveting jazz-funk duet between Baba Ndjhoni's mandolin and Patty Hughes' electric piano. "One Never Knows" sounds like a good String Cheese Incident jam, only more techno and avant-garde. "Reinheitsgebot" is an even fierier instrumental, anchored by Joel Oppenheimer's rolling and tumbling bass; Hughes raves on the piano, and Sven Eberlein counters with jabs of guitar. "Hunger Down" is one groovy number, with a jangly Bo Diddley-esque vibe, heavy on bass and drums. Eberlein cuts loose on guitar over a catchy bubbling bass line, and the song ends on a chant-along jam. "Tiger On a Roll" is another standout, a ballad that crests and falls, then ends on a powerful electric piano-led jam and finally some pretty, haunting organ chords. Perhaps the most fun song on the album is "Sait Jamais." It's sung entirely in French and has a slinky, loping feel. The main piano riff sounds really familiar, like a variation on some soul hit from the mid-'70s. The closing "Zydecongo Stomp" is sort of a trippier Little Feat-type rave-up. I dig the horns - they make it a leave-it-all-on-the-stage finale. The trumpet/guitar combo absolutely screams. Another listen to this disc revealed how unique the vocals are, such as on "Cobblestone," "Tiger On a Roll," and the Joni Mitchell-meets-Rusted Root "All of That." And, despite repeated listens, I have little idea what the heck the lyrics mean, but a theme throughout the disc seems to be people taking advantage of Earth's resources (I think?). Cobblestone, the band's fifth CD, has a great communal feel to it. It is boldly genre-crossing and yields new discoveries with repeat listens.
-Chip Withrow (www.musesmuse.com)
Like everything and nothing you've ever heard
"This is positive, uplifting music. It's good for your soul. And yet, when you listen to the words, you begin to realize that what you're hearing are warnings embedded in these beautiful melodies. Warnings that we as a human race need to rethink what we're doing, reexamine who we are, and reestablish a better way of living because this world and this life are the only ones we're going to get. At this particular moment in time, when it feels like we live in an age where optimism is a rare commodity, Chemystry Set is here to remind us that it's not too late, that there are still ways to improve things, and that you really can draw life-changing inspiration from music that genuinely matters. Yes, it really is as simple as that. Buy the album and see for yourself."
-Scott Coldren, The Virtual Soapbox