Albums:Monkeyshine

From WWR

Catetheshiner's synopsis of Monkeyshine, our first CD

So, do you want to know what kind of music is on our first CD? Well, let me tell you! Musically, it is all over the map, but held together by character-driven lyrics, guitars, vocal harmonies, and a wry sense of humor. The CD opens with an up tempo bongo and monkey noises ode to banana wine, "Monkeyshine," then slows down a bit and settles into a country-inspired ballad titled "It Aint About Love." "Hip Hip Hooray" picks up the pace again with a rambling alternative folk tale of lost ambitions and faded hopes. A tribute to Tim's high school transportation follows with the groovy "Little Red Vega." Then we switch gears and get the cello out of mothballs for the moody "Gray Matter," which is followed by an uptempo rollicking blues number, "Brown Finger Blues." A shuffling jazz tempo takes over for the obsequious "This Dog's Fer You" and jumps right into the hard-rocking "Pot-Bellied Swine." It's time to relax and maybe wash your hands after that number so we can take a trip to the seashore complete with gulls and surf ambience for "Life's a Beach." Then cool down with the country-tinged harmonies of "Shower of Love." Things get a little darker at this point as we head into the "Badlands" and "Unleash," and then with "Shattered Dreams" you get a false sense of security as the music gets pretty, but the lyrics stay dark. "Whipped Cream On A Cowpie" follows, an uptempo jazzy tale of adultery and bitter consequences, and then "Brand New Day" pays tribute to favorite oddballs and outsiders with a quasi-techno electronica sound. "Mail Order Bride" is a slow, swinging love duet with a heavy twist, which is followed by loud angry rant of a song with a misleadingly sweet title "Wish You Well." "Anymore" slows things down with a semi-sweet little ballad, then "'Til I'm Gone" follows up with a finger-snapping tribute to blissful days of youth and features Tim's son Keenan on the alto saxophone for the fadeout. The CD slowly builds to a noisy climax with "Where The Rainbow Ends," then ends on a sweet note with a strings and piano ballad, "Heaven On Ice."

There you have it. Now, don't you want to hear it?

Listener comments about Monkeyshine

Arthur Davenport wrote this in chat regarding Monkeyshine when he was the featured singer/songer writer of the day in April 2006:

"Cate and Tim put out one of the best lyrical CD's that I have heard in a long time when they released Monkeyshine, and besides the Monkey motif, mostly I love their voices, what they have to say, er sing, and the tonal underlayment to support the wonderful poems and stories.

Monkeyshine brew is also very popular here in Hawaii, with an overabundance of tropical fruit to ferment!" -- ReWoven 19:57, May 3, 2006 (AKDT)

Sparkit
has this album.

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