Not Our First Goat Rodeo
| Not Our First Goat Rodeo | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 19, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | August 2019 | |||
| Genre | Bluegrass, classical | |||
| Length | 44:53 | |||
| Label | Sony Masterworks | |||
| Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Not Our First Goat Rodeo is a 2020 collaborative album by Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile, featuring Aoife O'Donovan. It was released on June 19, 2020.[2]
Background[edit]
On October 24, 2011, Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile (with Aoife O'Donovan) released their first album together, entitled The Goat Rodeo Sessions.[3][4] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Classical, Classical Crossover, and Bluegrass charts[2][5] and reached number eighteen on the Billboard 200.[6] It also won the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album and the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 2013.[7]
The term goat rodeo refers to a chaotic event where many things must go right for the situation to work,[8] a reference to the unusual and challenging aspects of blending classical and bluegrass music. Ma described a goat rodeo thus: "If there were forks in the road and each time there was a fork, the right decision was made, then you get to a goat rodeo."[9]
Ma has stated in an interview that the group had the idea to make a second album in 2011, while recording The Goat Rodeo Sessions.[10] In August 2019, Meyer shared photographs on social media of the group, including O'Donovan, in studio recording new material.[11] On June 19 of the next year, this second album, Not Our First Goat Rodeo, was released.[2]
On September 1, 2020, a Tiny Desk Concerts was released by NPR in which the group performed three songs from the album. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the musicians each recorded themselves individually from home for the set.[12][13]
The album has received praise from reviewers, who have cited the group's virtuosity, chemistry, and ability to bend genres.
Track listing[edit]
All tracks are written by Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile[1]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Your Coffee is a Disaster" | 4:40 |
| 2. | "Waltz Whitman" | 3:44 |
| 3. | "The Trappings (feat. Aoife O'Donovan)" | 3:39 |
| 4. | "Every Note a Pearl (feat. Aoife O'Donovan)" | 4:37 |
| 5. | "Not For Lack of Trying" | 5:09 |
| 6. | "Voila!" | 3:11 |
| 7. | "Scarcely Cricket" | 4:46 |
| 8. | "We Were Animals (feat. Aoife O'Donovan)" | 5:22 |
| 9. | "Nebbia" | 4:31 |
| 10. | "757 ml" | 5:08 |
Personnel[edit]
The album features Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile on all 10 tracks. Aoife O'Donovan appears on 3 tracks as a featured vocalist.[14][15]
- Stuart Duncan – fiddle, banjo, vocals
- Yo-Yo Ma – cello
- Edgar Meyer – bass, piano
- Chris Thile – mandolin, vocals, guitar, fiddle
- Aoife O'Donovan – featured vocalist on tracks 3, 4, and 8
Reception[edit]
Not Our First Goat Rodeo has been received well by reviewers. Catherine Nelson of The Strad praised the album's complexity and "sheer joyfulness of expression".[16] Writing for AllMusic, Matt Collar described the album as a "deeply engaging, often rapturous album that balances keen and studied musicality with an almost chaotic passion for group interplay".[17] Comparing the album to The Goat Rodeo Sessions, Justin Hiltner called Not Our First Goat Rodeo "more ornery, more confident, brash, and joyously off-kilter", and said that the ensemble "feels veteran" for a second album.[18]
The album also reached number one on the Billboard Classical, Classical Crossover, and Bluegrass charts.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Not Our First Goat Rodeo – Stuart Duncan, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic, retrieved September 1, 2020
- ^ a b c "Not His First Goat Rodeo: Chris Thile on Supergroup's Reunion & New Album". Atwood Magazine. August 24, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ MASTERWORKS, SONY. "Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile Transcend Musical Boundaries and Create Organized Chaos in a Beautiful "Goat Rodeo"". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "The Goat Rodeo Sessions". www.amazon.com. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ "Review: String quartet with Yo-Yo Ma wows again on 2nd album". WTOP. June 18, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ a b "Chris Thile". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
- ^ "WINNERS: 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards (2012)". The Recording Academy. Retrieved April 2, 2013.
- ^ Ma, Yo-Yo; Duncan, Stuart; Meyer, Edgar; Thile, Chris (September 27, 2011). "Inside the Goat Rodeo Sessions". YouTube.
- ^ "Live on Soundcheck: The Goat Rodeo Sessions". November 11, 2011.
- ^ "Yo-Yo Ma: Goats, Rodeos And The Power Of Music". NPR.org. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "Edgar Meyer". www.facebook.com. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer And Chris Thile: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert". NPR.org. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "Goat Rodeo Featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Chris Thile & More Perform NPR Music 'Tiny Desk (Home) Concert'". JamBase. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "Not Our First Goat Rodeo". www.amazon.com. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "Not Our First Goat Rodeo – Credits".
- ^ Nelson, Catherine (June 23, 2020). "Yo-Yo Ma et al: Not Our First Goat Rodeo". The Strad. September 2020.
- ^ Collar, Matt. "Not Our First Goat Rodeo – AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "Not Our First Goat Rodeo, "Voila!"". The Bluegrass Situation. June 23, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
