Why Should The Fire Die? [Digipak]

Performer: Nickel Creek
Engineer: Eric Valentine; Eric Valentine
Producer: Eric Valentine; Tony Berg; Eric Valentine; Tony Berg
Distributor: Bayside Record Dist.

Notes: Nickel Creek: Chris Thile (guitar); Sean Watkins (background vocals); Sara Watkins . Personnel: Chris Thile (vocals, tenor guitar, banjo, bouzouki, mandola, mandolin); Sara Watkins (vocals, fiddle); Sean Watkins (guitar, 12-string guitar, baritone guitar, bouzouki, piano); Eric Valentine (drums). Audio Mixer: Eric Valentine . Recording information: Barefoot Recording. Photographer: Danny Clinch. Three years after their Grammy-winning 2002 album, Nickel Creek released WHY SHOULD THE FIRE DIE?, a record that shows a distinct maturation in the young bluegrass trio's sound. While the instrumental interplay between mandolin player Chris Thile, guitarist Sean Watkins, and fiddle player Sara Watkins is still prominent, this outing carries a darker tone than past efforts, and gives added focus to the group's storytelling talents and vocal performances (which often include three-part harmonies). Many of the songs, including the lilting "Eveline" and the bold, rock-tinged "Helena," are thoughtful character sketches that carry more emotional weight than earlier albums. Another sign of the band's evolution is the absence of producer Alison Krauss (here replaced by Eric Valentine and Tony Berg). While Krauss's considerable influence is still apparent, the group confidently emerges from under her shadow here, and the result is one of Nickel Creek's most compelling albums.

Entertainment Weekly (No. 834, p.144) - "...Boasting instrumental chops and three-part harmonies worthy of a mountain-soul string band..." - Grade: A- Dirty Linen (p.55) - "Nickel Creek has made a strong acoustic rock album that reflects a new maturity in songwriting and great leaps in the group's once-tentative singing." Mojo (Publisher) (p.100) - 5 stars out of 5 - "With a leavening of Irish jiggery, country pop and bluegrass Led Zeppelin riffling, the San Diegans' third album throws out the genre manual and leaves every cell, body and soul, buzzing." Mojo (Publisher) (p.64) - Ranked #49 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[A] classy country-pop heartache for every fiddling hoedown. A quiet revelation."

Bluegrass crossover phenomenon Nickel Creek had a considerable head start on its competition; its members started performing together in the late 1980s when they were still children. By the time they were teenagers, the young virtuosi (mentored by the esteemed bluegrass artist Alison Krauss) had broken through to the mainstream in a big way. Their mix of bluegrass tradition and contemporary pop sensibility earned them a huge audience via their self-titled 2000 debut album, nicely dovetailing with the O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU-inspired revival of interest in bluegrass.

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