Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers : Bride of the Noisemakers
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Initially, Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers kick in with such precision and perfection on this two-disc live set that it is easy to think the band has recorded and mixed the album in the studio bereft of an audience. But that is a high compliment, instead of snarky jest directed at the seasoned ivory tickler and his band of veteran musicians. What Bride of the Noisemakers – a compilation of performances recorded at various gigs from 2007 through 2009 – documents quite well is the fact that the band can gracefully jump into a song, tether the melody to its original template and then fly off in another exuberant direction. Hornsby’s ability to move a song with either a soft touch or percussive force on the piano is also breathtaking here. On tracks like “Talk of the Town/Charlie, Woody, N’ You” and “Fortunate Son/Comfortably Numb,” the Noisemakers blend inspired melody with improvisational moments filled with hope and promise. Elsewhere, on “Country Doctor,” “Tango King” and “Cartoons & Candy,” the entire band rolls along with majestic power and a sense of purpose, while Hornsby brings it all back home with a fine cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Standing on the Moon.”