Best of the Decade #2: The Gourds

If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have told you that the Gourds were on their way to much bigger things. Like most people, I first heard about the group via their cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice." Unlike most people, though, I wasn't under the impression that it was Phish performing (thanks for nothing, mislabeled Napster files!). As I went digging, I discovered that this was a terrific roots-rock group led by two accomplished songwriters, Jimmy Smith and Kev Russell. And when Bolsa de Agua dropped in September 2000, I was convinced that it was just a matter of time before more folks got on the trolley.

From the first seconds of the first track, "El Paso," I was swept away. I was reminded of course of the Band, and their lyrics reminded me of Dylan at his most playful. They're lyrics that your brain wants to chew on like Bazooka, and they're also surprisingly literate. They even pilfer a bit from Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca for "Flamenco Cabaret" and tackle religion here and there ("Jesus Christ with Signs Following," "Hallelujah Shine").

Over the years, it seems that their bluegrass proficiency may have attracted the attention of the jam-band crowd. Maybe that does the band a disservice (or maybe I'm being overly intolerant of jam-bands*), but it has made me slightly less reluctant to shout my Gourds love from the rooftops. Still and all, they've made consistently good, and occasionally great, albums throughout the decade, and they belong at the #2 spot if for no other reason than the fact that just about everyone I've played this record for has become a convert. That's tough to do in this increasingly fragmented age.

*No, I'm not.