Sean Watkins - Let It Fall - CD review
Chicago Tribune
Sunday ARTS
August 5, 2001
CD Review
By David Royko
Sean Watkins
Let It Fall (Sugar Hill)
Sean Watkins is the guitarist for the sensational and hard-to-classify band Nickel Creek. Since he sings a fair share of NC's tunes, it would not have been surprising if this, his first solo album, would have served to indulge him as a vocal front man. Thankfully, he has chosen to create an instrumental disc that demonstrates that his composing and arranging skills are on a par with his fleet and fluid fretwork. Few six-stringers can play with his precision or drive a band with the power of his chords, yet the majority of the tracks from "Let It Fall" are in a reflective, lyrical vein, and his gift for melody makes those tunes work as effectively as the more visceral tracks like "Ferdinand The Bull" and "Neo's Tune." "Let It Fall" also makes obvious how critical Watkins' composing is to Nickel Creek's sound.