Drawing from all over the musical spectrum,
Frisell selects drummer
Jim Keltner (best known for his records with
George Harrison,
Eric Clapton and other rock stars) and bassist
Viktor Krauss (a fixture in
Lyle Lovett's country band), and comes up with an immensely likable, easy-grooving CD that defies one to put a label on it. If anything,
Frisell leans toward a drawling country twang heavily indebted to
Chet Atkins in his guitar work here, but there is a freewheeling jazz sensibility at work on every track.
Keltner contributes the heavy rock element with his emphatic strokes, occasionally pushing
Frisell in that direction on the title track and the lengthy "Lookout for Hope." Yet
Keltner is also capable of surprising subtlety, and
Krauss provides firm, unflashy underpinning. Above all, this is thoughtful, free-thinking, ear-friendly jamming that was recorded in bustling Burbank, CA. but sounds as if it was laid down in a relaxed cabin in the hills. ~ Richard S. Ginell