Surprising that we haven't seen a review by one of those stogy old reprobates for whom "if it ain't rougher than a year-old corn cob, it ain't fit to listen to," taking this album to task for its smoothness and polish. Those types are also fond of calling anything well played and well recorded "slick and over-produced." And anything expertly mixed has had a "buff job" applied to it (whatever that's supposed to signify).
Maybe they've all gone into hibernation. Or perhaps they've become too stove up with rheumatism to do reviews anymore.
The fact is "Climbing the Walls" is such a charm, it may well be enjoyed and appreciated by anyone who likes music period - no matter the genre.
In his liner notes, Tony Trischka calls this "an understated masterpiece." That sums it up and says it all except they told me I'd have to fill out the rest of the allotted space here.
What we have here are two of today's finest third generation acoustic music practitioners, at or very near the top of their form, playing some highly insightful tunes, four of which are their own, with all the off-hand casualness and intimacy of a jam session. Yet there's also all the energy, verve and flair of a command performance.
At first listen, you'll discover how Mike Compton is so thoroughly steeped in the Monroe school of Mandolin. Listen a little more and you'll find he's taking those Monroe stylings a little further. Some say a lot further and that may be, but it's subtle and unpretentious. Both Mike and David are and that's much of what makes this work so engaging. Nobody's hitting anybody over the head with anything. Not one another and not the listener. That's not to say there's no energy here - or punch. Just listen to the title song or the romping, rhythmic "Honkytonk Swing."
For four-plus years Mike played mandolin with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. While his work there was solid, clean and tasteful, this reviewer gets the feeling that he's delved a little deeper into his instrument or he's allowing himself to turn loose a bit more here than he did with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Maybe a combination of both.
It's not that David Grier is one of the more underrated guitarists as some have said, because everyone that hears him is duly impressed. Maybe it's that not enough people have heard him. Maybe "...Walls" will change that. David admits to considerable Clarence White influence, and there are other notable influences there too. So the licks are all there, but it's David's interpretation, touch and feel and his penchant for occasional surprises that rank him with the best that are out there.
Twelve songs here, some new, some old, including a couple of fiddle tunes. All thoroughly personalized. Sometimes Mike and David play off one another, sometimes they compliment. Blaine Sprouse's fiddle and Roy Husky 's bass compliment most cuts. Don't be alarmed by a clarinet on one song and a hammered dulcimer on another. These don't get in the way and they don't detract. Neither does the absence of a 5-string throughout this work.
A common complaint from the raw-edged purist is that smoothness and polish takes away from the soulfulness. I dare them to make that observation here. And if they do, don't believe it! This is great 1990's picking, fancy but not dazzling. Solid but not weighty. And yes, the whole proceeding is extremely well recorded. But there's neither a shortage of soul or lack of feel.