Album Notes

"Great Dream"

The Geyer Street Sheiks



... As fans of musicology and folklore will
be quick to acknowledge when choosing between
hard facts and myth the latter is always more
reliable-and also more fun.

So let's welcome the return of the long-remembered
and embellished traditional music that was
part and parcel of the union of National Steel
guitarist Tom Hall ( winner of last year's RFT
music poll as Best Solo Artist), multi-instrumentalist
Steve Mote and washboard rhythm giant David Gebben.
This time out, new and improved, thanks to the
presence of Alice Spencer, whose dynamic range,
soulful resonance and emotive depth belie her
twenty something youthfulness.

That Spencer was a minor deity on the local scene
(St. Louis / midwest) as part of the
Three Merry Widows, should not distract you
from the vision at the creative core of the
Sheiks. Hall, Mote and Gebben - with Marc
Rennard on fiddle, Charlie Pfeffer on mandolin
and Mike Prokopf on bass- make instrumental music
that bespeaks integrity, craftsmanship and technique.

Anybody who enjoys traditional folk and blues
would dig these guys play the memorable
"Missouri Mud." It's multigenerational music that
connects with lots of listeners.

However, Spencer's sultry evocative phrasing
and innate grasp and embodiment of the various
emotions at the heart of these time-honored tunes
are uniquely and thoroughly special. On the
opening "Sixteen Tons" and later on "Oh Daddy,"
"World of Trouble," "I've Got a Feelin' I'm Fallin'"
and Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day"
she sounds utterly believable and emotionally honest.

But the sum of Geyer Street's parts are greater
than the spectacular strength of this one, albeit significant,part. Hear Rennard's fiddle solo on
the closing "Sweet Sunny South," or the compelling harmony-driven fast shuffle of
"Dance Around in Your Bones," or Hall's guitar center
for "Payday," or the instrumental-and vocal
interplay of title track"Great Dream,""Cakewalk"
or "Who's Been Here?" and you'll know instinctively
that Great Dream only scratches the surface of the
talents and potential in Spencer and her new cohorts.
And given their proclivity for serving up and reshaping traditional gems, there's no lack for potential
"new material."

It leaves one with the rarest experiences:
wishing there was more after the 15 tracks that appear on Great Dream.

If this were indeed a dream I'd choose to sleep
as long as possible.

Brian Newcombe
The Riverfront Times - St. Louis MO




The Geyer Street Sheiks

Alice Spencer * vocals, piano, whistle,mouth trumpet

Steve Mote * guitar, ukulele, banjo, piano, vocals

Marc Rennard * fiddle

Tom Hall * National steel guitar, vocals

David Gebben * washboard, percussion, vocals

Michael Prokopf * bass

Charlie Pfeffer * mandolin, vocals


Produced by the Bjam Staff ***

Paul Boeger, C.D. Stelzer & Harry Stefanyszyn


Mastered at Ardent Studios Memphis, TN. by Larry Nix