Record albums are made for different reasons. Some are for dancing, others for making a social statement, and other times to simply show off chops. This one, put together by Wally Ingram, Tom Freund and Steve Blacke, goes the route of creating sonic landscapes, taking the listener down rural roads, small villages and blue highways.
Timbuk3 member Ingram plays the drums, while Freund takes on guitar, piano, bass, mandolin and anything sitting around, with Blacke adding violin, mandolin and guitar with some ethereal background voices thrown in. Together, the whole exceeds the parts, with rich folkways from the Cumberland gap on piece like “Entrance” and the late night at the VFW title track, with easy strums, relaxed drums and patient chords. Freund’s bass takes a stroll around Ingram’s brushes on “Rushin’ River” with misty mandolins and violin walking along the Blue Ridge Mountains on “Mudd”. Gentle voices are innocent on the cheerful “Shine A L ight” with panoramic impressions with guitar, percussion and recorder on “Pathway to the Heart”. A Andean flutes and heavenly vocals create a contemplative “Grateful Winds” with a trip to Monument valley via haunting Indian flutes on the full moon promise of “Twilight”.
The joy of this album is the unpretentious and casual atmosphere, as like the best cooks, these musicians know to trust basic ingredients and not add too much to take away from the essential flavors.