From Amazon.com
Live is Best!
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: My wife and I go to a series of house concerts put on by Dark-Thirty Productions of Lakeside, California. The acts are quite excellent in quality, but are still lesser known and willing to give concerts before 50 to 120 people in a small venue. I was told, when I first started to attend, that one of the best acts to catch was The Hot Club of Cowtown. Well, I've now attended three Hot Club concerts and wouldn't miss the chance to attend more. What a terrific musical entourage!
The Hot Club consists of Whit on guitar, Jake on stand-up bass and Elana on violin. All serve as vocalists with Whit and Elana carrying the greatest workload. Their music is generally billed as "Western Swing" or "Hot Jazz." It's somewhat old-fashioned sounding and some of the songs go way, way back. However, the Hot Club can turn this music into a fresh new sound that has everyone singing their praise. All three concerts I attended resulted in standing ovations with the crowd begging for more.
The Hot Club has several things going for it. First, all three persons are very engaging personalities in themselves and they react wonderfully together. When you listen to them playing their music, you cannot help but feel that they genuinely are having fun. That makes them a great act to watch live and in my concerts I've sat no more than 20 feet away. Secondly, all three are excellent musicians. Any of the three can give a solo and bring applause to the point that the music is almost drowned out. Did I mention that they work well together? Like a well-oiled machine! And, they play real-fast high-energy selections and never miss a note. They're just a terrific band and they play wonderful music. If you ever see them posted for a concert, don't miss it.
I purchased the "Dev'lish Mary" CD and I've enjoyed it very much, but it has some of those things that record producers are prone to do and it's not totally true to the concert experience. Now, the "Continental Stomp" recording is out (not present when I purchased "Dev'lish Mary") and it comes truer to the Hot Club experience. Believe me, it's best to see them live, but if you can't the "Continental Stomp" CD comes closest to the live experience. All of the selections are excellent, but my personal favorites include "Deed I Do," "Chinatown," "I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby," Exactly Like You," and "I can't believe You're in Love with Me." Elana is my favorite vocalist and has a personal charm that simply can't be captured on a recording. Otherwise, it's an outstanding CD.
Gary Peterson
Continental Stomp is superb
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This is a great cd. First one that I bought of this group and I love it.
Engaging, Entertaining, Skillful
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: This live album shows off the dazzling talents of three dynamite musicians, revisits some excellent classic tunes, and (most importantly) makes a point of entertaining the listener. The Hot Club of Cowtown is an extremely talented trio of players (and singers) that avoids the common pitfall of talented players: trying to show off how talented they are.
Instead of trying to stupefy the audience with technical prowess, the Hot Club draws them into a synergistic musical experience, and that's why I love this album. You will hear excellent picking, soulful singing, searing solos. But most importantly, you will be entertained and have a great time.
Yes this is Elana Fremerman's band
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: If you've seen and got blown away by Bob Dylan's fiddler on his 2005 tour ... this is her band ... You got to love them ! :)
One of my favorite CDs!
Album Rating: (5 of 5 stars)
Review Comments: Though the style of music is quite unlike anything else in my collection and I stumbled across the CD on a fluke, I adore it! In fact, upon discovering it, I was so pleased with it that I played it for my whole family (ages 16 through 57), and it got a thumbs up from everybody. The songs have an old time traditional American feel to them and the musicianship is fantastic. (I hope to see these three perform live someday!) I love many of the songs, but I think my favorite is track 9, "After You've Gone." The best thing about the CD is that it makes me happy every time I listen to it, without fail. Highly recommended!
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