Our Review
The Trail Band presents stylish chuckwagon music of the most delicious sort. On Peace on Earth, these eight accomplished performers (including five lead singers) deliver a delightful blend of seasonal favorites and shiny new creations. The warm mood reflects early music/folk stylings (with a pip of pop and a smattering of jazz) heated up around a dancing camp fire, with smooth production values and superb musicianship.
Peace on Earth opens extremely well with a sweetly multi-layered arrangement of Hark the Herald Angels Sing, showing colorful harmonies and cascading voices. This is all acoustic, and the effect is buoyant and euphoric. In addition to spot-on vocals, the Trail Band knows its way around a wide range of brass and string instruments, including the unique alphorn. Some memorable tracks are fine instrumentals, like the traditional What Child Is This crisply paired with the Irish jig The Frost Is All Over, and the contrabassoon-ish Let It Snow (Blower). Most cuts, however, feature vibrant vocalists in heavenly harmonies. So cool!
Peace on Earth also shows some distinctive Latin flair on two tracks, and closes with an old Louis Prima recording What Will Santa Say, a sassy sweetheart of a number. Although the album lists 12 tracks, there is a clever bonus instrumental as the 13th cut (the contrabassoon crooning Happy Holidays).
The Trail Band is an intensely entertaining group with surprises up each sleeve. Talent like this makes it extremely easy to hit the trail for the holidays!
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2006)
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From the liner notes:
Phil Neuman: tuba, flageolet, reed contrabass, cornet, flugelhorn, alphorn, vocals
Marv Ross: guitar
Lex Browning: violin, guitar, slide guitar, lead vocal on tracks 1 & 8
Mick Doherty: string bass, guitar and lead vocal on tracks 3 & 11
Gayle Neuman: violin, sopranino recorder, trombone, alphorn, lead vocal on track 9
Dan Stueber: drums and percussion
Rindy Ross: saxes, flute, lead vocal on tracks 2, 8 & 12
Cal Scott: piano, guitar, mandolin, cornet, lead vocal on track 4
The Trail Band
Peace on Earth
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Label: Trails End Productions
Length: 38 minutes
Genre: Western
Release: 2005
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Hark the Herald Angels Sing |
| Peace on Earth |
| Aleluya P'urepecha |
| The Longest Night of the Year |
| What Child Is This/The Frost Is All Over |
| Come Home for Christmas |
| Let It Snow (Blower) |
| Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas |
| Sleigh Ride |
| Joseph Lieber |
| Faltan Cinco Pa' las Doce |
| What Will Santa Claus Say |