Search - Phil Lesh & Friends :: Charter One Pavilion at Northerly Island: Chicago

Surprisingly Excellent

Doked | Long Island, NY, USA | 06/26/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this album not knowning what to expect because it has Barry Sless on pedal steel throughout, and since he seemed to be on whenever John Scofield or Trey Anastasio wasn't around earlier in the tour, I assumed he was sort of a second-stringer who filled in as needed. I really liked the first set at Bethel Woods, where he plays, though, so I went ahead and bought this, and now I don't know what the story with his participation was since this was a fantastic concert with some of the most beautiful songs in any of the concerts in the 2006 tour I've heard so far. In particular, early on the song "When the Stars Go Blue," is just lovely, and after a few more good numbers, there's a series that runs from The Golden Road > Rueben n Cherise > Lazy River Road > Magnolia Mountain > Eyes of the World that's just phenomenal. The rest of the songs are very strong as well - the early ones rev up quickly, while the last series winds down nicely,- but these are the ones that make me recommend this concert wholeheartedly. Not surprisingly, Joan Osborne sings on most of them; I think she has a wonderful voice, and mixed with the superlative instrumental work of the band it's an unsurpassed listening experience. While the concert is as strong as any other in the tour, in my opinion, the tone with Sless is somewhat different than the other mixes of players in the tour: it's a smoother sound than with Scofield, who has a somewhat harder, more jagged style, and less dominated by driving guitar solos than the sets with Anastasio. Overall, this is just a wonderful set of CDs; I highly recommend it."