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Fronted by David Nelson on guitar and vocals with Buddy Cage on pedal steel, the chemistry of the current NRPS goes further than just the band personnel. Robert Hunter collaborates with Nelson on a half dozen cuts and the long-time Grateful Dead lyricist demonstrates an elegant command of language on the title song, while the band’s playing on a close to eight minute track is articulate in its own way.
There’s more of a pedestrian air in both the playing and writing of "Big Six" but the New Riders band of today is greater than the sum of its parts. Ronnie Penque’s mobile bass playing, for instance, offsets the metronomic drumming of Johnny Markowski and you wouldn’t be able to discern that so clearly if it weren’t for the clarity of sound enabled by producer Michael Falzarano, who also plays guitar and sings in the band (a role he also enacted with Hot Tuna some years ago).
Elsewhere, David Nelson‘s crisp guitar work on "Barracuda Moon" plays off against the swooping steel of Cage; the latter continues to distinguish himself through the judicious use of effects on his instrument while utilizing a more traditional sound as on "Olivia Rose." Guest keyboardist Mookie Siegel brings more scope to the sound on cuts including "Down the Middle."
NRPS 2009 can excel when they improvise, as on the ten-minute plus of "Ghost Train Blues," and the group would do well to jam more often and bring in more cover material, such as the traditional "Them Old Minglewood Blues," to complement their originals. Tracks like "Higher" sound dated (as Stanley Mouse’s cover graphics appear), but overall, these New Riders generally turn their limitations into strengths on Where I Come From.
