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"Three Sets: Volume Two" - various artists
review by David Rioux

Lauan Records is a valiant effort at a creating a community of unified JamBands under one label. Their aim is to help in the promotion , distribution, and ultimately aiding the JamBands in gaining recognition on a wider scale than would be available to them on their own otherwise limited resources. One of the ways they help to accomplish this is the release of compilation CD's of some of there more promising bands. You can rest assured that you are almost always going to get a great mix as a result. Not only is it in the record company's best interest to release some of their best artists, but to price them to sell quickly as well. This, in fact, can be obtained for a mere $8.00 direct from the web site.

Of course, another thing that bears mention is that, being fans of JamBands, the least compelling thing about this particular genre of music is that so much of the experience is in the live performance, that studio recordings sometimes... most times.... don't do any justice. The bands contained in this sampler are in fact culled from live performances, just adding a little more fuel to the fire.

The bands themselves are Larry from Austin, Texas; Ancient Harmony from Albany, Georgia; and Wise Monkey Orchestra from San Diego, California, respectively. Larry opens the CD with three cuts, all of which highlight the deep groove these guys are capable of. Most worthy of mention is the opening track Just Ask Yourself (what jammin' can do for you), a tune that reaches out in to deep funky grooves that show me just what real JamBands can sound like when it all gels just right! Seven is also meant to go on for longer than it's 10:41 time allowance, just to allow the percussionists to properly stretch their legs.

Ancient Harmony is up next, but with only one cut... all 25:55 of it! It reminds me of an interview with Dick Latvala regarding one of the "Dick's Picks" releases where he said something like: "Christ's sake, you got a 25 minute Playin' In The Band on there, what more do you want?!" Now I'm not saying that this jam measures up to a good '74 Playin' In The Band, but you gotta figure that the label had something to prove by putting this on a promotional release. All I'm gonna say is, if a good long groove interests you... get it! Christ's sake, it's only eight bucks, what more do you want?

Last but certainly not least is Wise Monkey Orchestra with four cuts of their own, complete with horns and wonderfully soulful vocals. Some of Wise Monkey Orchestra's appeal seems to lie in there ability to make everything a little slower and funky. There is a kind of inner-city blues feel that resonates from the organ and horn mix, not to mention the deep back-bone the bass player lays down again and again.

"Three Sets" is a great compilation at a steal of a price, something more record labels should invest into doing. It made a convert out of me when I first discovered Grisman's own Acoustic Disc sampler's, and I can easily see the same thing happening again here. Assuming the quality stays at the level it is here, Lauan Records could easily grab a big share of the JamBands market.