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Concert Reviews: The Cantrells
Nashville TENNESSEAN:
"Emily can just flat out sing and Al's a fiddler's
fiddler."
Rosalie Sorrels, from liner notes to "A New Language":
"The first time I heard
Al and Emily Cantrell it was in a noisy Idaho bar where the sound level was as overwhelming as a thunderstorm and the sensibility
was about as sensitive as a tractor-pull at a county fair ... but! ... Emily's clear arresting voice cut through all that
panic and birdseed like a mountain sweet-water spring cuts through stone all wrapped in Al's finely tuned, well-honed steel
and lace fiddle.
Since then they've visited me in my mountain cabin and played music in that lovely stillness as well
- the company was as sweet as the music ... and now you can experience that company and that fine collaboration on this new
album ... two first-rate musicians come together like a rainbow - many-colored and splendidly joined - deserving as much attention
as they've given to their music.
What a pleasure! -do yourself a favor and listen up."
Robert K. Oermann,
Nashville TENNESSEAN:
"She sings like an angel, he plays like the devil. THE CANTRELLS make delightful acoustic
music. Their harmonies are just lovely and Emily has one of those truly lovable homespun sopranos. Al's fiddling is superb.
They do everything from swing to country."
Bruce A. Bauman, Executive Director, Wheatland Music Organization:
"Now that I have seen THE CANTRELLS twice, listened to and been quite captivated by their two albums, and worked
with them once, I can urge you to contact them so you may have the experience soon. In my twenty years with Wheatland I can
easily count twenty female singers capable of breaking glass at some distance, women with unique, rich and compelling voices.
Emily Cantrell makes twenty-one, but in this setting, harmonizing with Al, their subtle musical grace, she could easily become
a favorite.
THE CANTRELLS are more than worth a listen. They are much more than your usual fine old time and bluegrass
inspired duet. This barebones duet cuts quickly and deeply and commands your attention."
From the internet:
THE CANTRELLS at Black Forest, CO, by Mike Carr, POWER PICKIN'
"Al and Emily Cantrell (of "A River Runs
Through It" fame) appeared at our humble log cabin in the pines of Black Forest, Colorado on Sunday, October 16. Emily
Cantrell writes excellent songs. She has an impressive vocal range and is an expressive singer. I was also impressed with
her guitar playing ability; she threw some jazz structures around like it was yesterday's news. Al Cantrell divided his time
between mandolin and fiddle. He's an excellent mando player and a monster fiddle player. Two tunes, whose titles I will mangle
from memory included "Jesusita en Chihuahua," a kind of Mex thing with eight parts, and a contradance style tune
called "Jack's Sermon," or something like that. He blew the room away."
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