Mountain Tracks, Vol. 1 – Yonder Mountain String Band

Tie-dyed bluegrass for third-generation hippie jam band followers doesn't get much better than this band's sophomore release, a live album recorded over two nights at Boulder, CO's Fox Theatre. The band has fun with an unlisted rendition of Peter Tosh's "Legalize It" (hidden in the middle of their own "Keep on Going") and J.J. Cale's "If You're Ever in Oklahoma," but the opening cover of Carter Stanley's "Sharecropper's Son" sounds a tad too polished and buttoned-down to come across as a genuine tribute to an older musical tradition. Less a progressive bluegrass outfit than a jam band equipped with acoustic instruments and a vague sense of history, this band is at its best when it can stretch out and play off of each other during extended instrumental breaks. Though still unlikely to covert nonbelievers, Mountain Tracks, Vol. 1 is probably a perfect tour memento for this young band's growing legion of neo-hippie fans. ~ Brian Beatty, All Music Guide