Sean Watkins - 26 Miles

Artist:

Watkins, Sean

UPC:

015891395524

See Also:

Nickel Creek

Description:

Personnel: Sean Watkins (vocals, electric guitar, guitar, E-bow); Jon Brion (archtop guitar, upright piano, organ, chamberlain); John Stubbs, Alex Palamids (violin); Robyn Glasson (viola); Marcia Bookstein (cello); Sarah Watkins (fiddle); Britt Herbert (bassoon); Trip Sprague (saxophone); Kevin Hennessey, Bob Magnuson, Dave Curtis (bass); Duncan Moore (drums, loops); Glen Phillips (background vocals).
Principally recorded at Spragueland, Lucadia, California.
On his second solo release, Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek further departs from progressive bluegrass to craft a collection of thoughtful and dour acoustic pop. 26 Miles still sparkles with clean, full production and a sense of crossing many genres, but this time Watkins lands a little closer to the likes of Grant Lee Phillips than Alison Brown. From the distinctly indie rock "On Ice" (Death Cab for Cutie comes to mind) to the alt-country rocker "Hiding," 26 Miles never reaches the exuberance of Nickel Creek, but that doesn`t seem to be Watkins` goal here -- the album is much more likely to traffic in the wistful and downbeat than the rollicking and bouncy. Sara Watkins` harmony on "Locking Doors" is quite beautiful, which leads to an interesting point. Both this tune and the striking "On Ice" were written on tour as part of a game -- everyone had to write a song of the same title -- an exercise with astounding results. All in all, 26 Miles is distinctly a road album, written in the confusion and exhaustion of a tour. It`s hardly uplifting, but Watkins negotiates the material deftly with an emotional subtlety. ~ Charles Spano

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. 26 Miles
2. On Ice
3. Chicago
4. Letters Never Sent
5. N.M.I.
6. Hiding
7. Lip Above Me
8. Chutes & Ladders
9. Take It Away
10. Locking Doors
11. Creeping Beauty
12. Brick Window
13. Carousel

Album Information

Release Date:

04/08/2003

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Rock & Pop

Subgenre:

Folk Rock

Label:

Sugar Hill

Producer:

Sean Watkins

Catalog Number:

3955

Original Release Year:

2003

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

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