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The Wood Brothers

Ways Not To Lose

By Paul Paradis

Found in: | Music |

For the Wood Brothers, the story begins in Boulder, Colo., the birthplace of brothers Oliver and Chris Wood, and where they began playing music. But like any good story, there are twists and turns. After high school, the brothers parted ways, with older brother Oliver moving to Atlanta to marinate in the blues and Chris taking a path to the Big Apple to play jazz. After years of separation, the brothers reunited to record Ways Not To Lose, a lovable album that highlights the strengths of their musical backgrounds and a synergy that only family can bring to playing music together.

While in Atlanta, guitar and dobro player Oliver found that he had a penchant for writing and singing songs. He formed King Johnson, a group that displayed a unique variety of southern rock that blended traditional blues, rock-and-roll and a jazzy New Orleans brass band influence. Paying tribute to its diverse musical styling, the Savannah Morning News called King Johnson "a study in musical diversity."

In Manhattan, where Chris Wood was playing bass in everything from free jazz to rock-and-roll, he met up with keyboardist John Medeski and drummer Billy Martin. The musicians formed the wildly popular jazz trio Medeski, Martin and Wood (MMW). This trio has released many great albums; among the best the debut, It's a Jungle in Here, a straight-forward jazz project for the experimental group, and Shack-Man, a groovy laid-back album that is one of my all-time favorites.

Ways Not To Lose

In Ways Not To Lose, the brothers combine the best of their shared childhood influences with what they've learned since leaving home. The album has a relaxed, groovy sound that is a great compliment to lyrics that are sometimes downcast.

Chris takes a huge step from the music he recorded with MMW. Even in this new context, his playing is as distinctive and recognizable as ever. For Oliver, this project is less of a jump, a more stripped-down version of King Johnson. It highlights his songwriting style as well as his groovy, soulful and elegant guitar work.

Although this is the first time the Wood brothers have recorded together, they have been playing together since they were small, and it shows in Ways Not To Lose as a kind of synergy that comes from highly trained musicians spending considerable time playing and practicing together. This synergy is heightened by brotherhood. Ways Not To Lose is loaded with little moments that point to the almost telepathic effort of kinship. Chris's bass fits right into the spaces created by Oliver's guitar; Oliver draws out a word from a lyric just as Chris holds onto a note in the bass line.

Despite the cheerful and airy quality to the recording, the playful dobro and acoustic guitar from Oliver, and Chris keeping time slapping away on bass, lyrically Ways Not To Lose is a subdued affair about losing, leaving, the devil and fleeting moments of happiness.

The opening track "One More Day" seems to epitomize the brothers' effortless musicianship in spite of the somewhat dark lyrical content of the album. "I've seen you in a sadness, I've seen you when you've hoped to die, I heard you say well it's raining all over the world. What did I tell you? What did I say? Give it one more day."

Ways Not To Lose is a nice album filled with charming, bittersweet lyrics and great musicianship. Its biggest fault is that it can be too nice. Throughout the album I waited for experimentation, where the brothers would veer from just palatable to pushing the limits of their immense talents. In "Where My Baby Might Be," they approach this potential. A harmonica riff opens the track sounding like a train leaving town. Chris's bass plucks while Oliver's sneaky guitar sets a background to lyrics of a man on an endless search for his girl.

Overall, Ways Not To Lose will not disappoint. Its warm, friendly quality reminds us to ease up and to take life a little less seriously.

Paul Paradis follows the music scene from Durango where he is program coordinator for Southwest Conservation Corps (www.sccorps.org).