Sharing the Covers
is a clever title from a clever band -- a band clever enough to not allow themselves to succumb to their wittiness anywhere on this light and lively collection of other people's songs. Casting their net wide, the quartet cover contemporaries and classics, modern and vintage tunes in equal measure, their choices continually telegraphing their good taste. Happily, their execution demonstrates their skill. Although
Chatham County Line
doesn't reinterpret many of the songs -- even a nimble reading of
the Ventures
' "Walk-Don't Run" doesn't turn the tune inside-out -- they nevertheless imprint these largely familiar tunes with their personality. Witness their version of
Tom Petty
's "You Don't Know How It Feels." They take the song at the same shambling tempo and anchor it on the same harmonica line, yet it doesn't feel like a copy of the original; their harmonies and warm touch lend it a distinctive feel, one that speaks to
's easy chemistry. Elsewhere, the group lets this sentimental side brush up against their smarts, and the result is a charming record: one that says a bit about the group's roots and a lot about what they're all about. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine