[rating=7.00]
Recorded over two days at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, Acoustic at the Ryman showcases the soft, melodic side of Band of Horses. The album is warm and inviting, a reimagining of ten tracks from each of the band’s first four albums, with an emphasis placed on the slow crooners from each.
Considering that about half of Band of Horses’ catalog is made up of slow ballads, it would be easy for the band to coast through the acoustic set and play ten songs exactly as they sound on the studio album. There is a little of that here, as there is no significant difference between the acoustic version of “Detlef Schrempf” and the studio version. For the most part, though, Band of Horses reworks each song to fit more comfortably in the stripped setting.
“Marry Song” begins the set, with acoustic strumming replacing organ as the song’s main instrument. With “Factory,” the band takes its most overproduced song — overpowered by an unnecessary string section — and strips it down to its bare bones, resulting in a version of the track that far surpasses the Infinite Arms original. “Wicked Gil” stands out for its drastic revamping, slowed down to half speed and turned from an angry rock number into a heartbreaking dirge.
Acoustic at the Ryman is not a best-of collection or a showcase of Band of Horses’ musical mastery. Rather, devoid of distortion, drums and theatrics, it’s an homage to the musician as storyteller tradition. It seems as though the performance would have been exactly the same of the band was playing alone around a campfire.
As with the studio recordings, pristine vocal harmonies are a major component of Acoustic at the Ryman, lead vocalist Benjamin Bridwell’s voice expertly meshing with that of pianist Ryan Monroe and guitarist Tyler Ramsey. “Older” and “Neighbor” both feature extended a cappella harmonies, both of which are highlights of the album.
In the end, the success of Acoustic at the Ryman lies not with the reworking of familiar content live, but with the crafting of each song years ago in the studio. Great songwriting transcends the boundaries of musical genre and musical instruments. Swap crunching guitars for piano and “The Funeral” is still a great song, because the tune was crafted in such a way to overcome transition from rock anthem to piano ballad. By doing away with the loud rock stylings of the studio albums, Acoustic at the Ryman shows the best aspects of Band of Horses, warm vocal harmonies, intricate melodies, and songwriting strong enough that the songs sound good no matter where or how they are played.
