The Best of Mountain Stage Live, Vol. 3

They Say...

Review by Todd Kristel, All Music Guide

The third collection of live performances from Mountain Stage remains true to this weekly two-hour radio program's melange of singer/songwriter pop-rock, folk, and other compatible styles of music. Timbuk 3, an alternative pop/rock band that was unfairly relegated to one-hit wonder status, sounds perfectly comfortable in this setting, as Courtney Adair sings the lyrics (actually, speaks the words) of "Border Crossing" over tasteful musical support from guitars, bass, drums, harmonicas, and violin. Alex Chilton's guitar-bass-drums trio do a good job with "Guantan Amerika," a mid-tempo rocker that's one of several songs on this collection with some form of political content. Crash Test Dummies do a passable rendition of their alternative rock hit "Superman's Song," while Mary-Chapin Carpenter sounds fine in a solo rendition (with one backup vocalist) of her country hit "Never Had It So Good." Bruce Cockburn doesn't break a sweat performing "Waiting for a Miracle" with his band, but you can hear the enthusiastic audience response to the Tex-Mex sounds of the Texas Tornados, who rollick through an accordion-driven, bilingual performance of "Soy de San Louis." Cowboy Junkies do one of their top numbers, the dysfunctional love song "Misguided Angel," with vocalist Margot Timmins at her mournful best. Alternative rocker Yo La Tengo gives a folk-country feel to "Lewis," which mentions the '70s country-pop band America, while Sarah McLachlan gives a drawing room feel to "Shelter," which mentions the problem of homelessness in America. Warren Zevon's "Renegade" isn't one of his best songs, and his overly serious performance doesn't enhance the hackneyed lyrics, but he gets strong support from violinist Deni Bonett of Mountain Stage's house band. Marshall Crenshaw's "Cynical Girl" is one of his best songs, but it sounds much better in the studio; however, you could do a lot worse than an acceptable performance of a great song. The Fabulous Twister Sisters, which is essentially Mountain Stage's house band (including Julie Adams on vocals and the aforementioned Deni Bonett on acoustic violin), do a real nice job with Tim O'Brien's "Romance Is a Slow Dance," which sounds just like the title suggests. And Jo-El Sonnier's Cajun rendition of Richard Thompson's perky breakup song "Tear-Stained Letter" ends the album on an upbeat note. Unfortunately, this collection doesn't add up to much more than a pleasant sampler with performances that are generally good but hardly revelatory or great.