Sister Hazel Lift CD

Live Recording



This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Sister Hazel: Ken Block (vocals, acoustic guitar); Drew Copeland (electric guitar, background vocals); Ryan Newell (electric guitar); Jett Beres (bass instrument); Mark Trojanowski (drums).
Sister Hazel probably deserved more from AAA radio than the cup of coffee they got with 1997's "All for You". The Florida combo writes strong hooks, and cultivates the same easily accessible sound that brought silver platters of success to dudes like Rob Thomas and notorious actress dater Adam Duritz. That said, Sister Hazel might lean a little much on the easygoing with 2004's Lift. The album is a wrinkle-free landscape with its emotions and instrumental points demarcated and annotated for quick and simple consumption - Lift is like Lean Cuisines for casual music fans. Opener "Surrender" offers come crackle, and its chorus is energizing and true. "Green" is as catchy as anything Train has ever written, so there's no reason why it shouldn't be a adult alternative chartbuster. Overall, the album's soft-toned production is like an enormous goosedown pillow of feelgood rock. Sister Hazel won't get you thinking too deep about anything, but they probably go great with coffee and Saturday mornings. Of course, that means you actually have to be up on Saturday morning. ~ Johnny Loftus
Sister Hazel probably deserved more from AAA radio than the cup of coffee they got with 1997's "All for You." They write strong hooks, and cultivate the same easily accessible sound that brought silver platters of success to dudes like Rob Thomas and Adam Duritz. That said, Sister Hazel might be leaning a little much on the easygoing with 2004's Lift. The album is a pressed pair of chinos for the headphones, wrapped in tastefully intellectual packaging (a Thoreau quote? Come on....) and moving easily in a wrinkle-free landscape of impossibly dull rock. Sure, the pause before "Surrender"'s chorus crackle is energizing and true. And "I Will Come Through" is capable enough as Flying-V funk for squares who think Lenny Kravitz is too black. "Green," too, is at least as catchy as Train, so why shouldn't it be a hit? Who knows. We aren't privy to Sister Hazel's radio programmer woes. What's clear is that Lift never met a production tweak it didn't like. The album's an afterthought lost inside a fluffy down pillow. Its guitar licks are pruned, Ken Block's amiable rasp is meticulously smoothed, and stuff like "Lay It Down" and "Dreamers" is a step away from the cultured croon of Christian rock. With Lift, Sister Hazel also found it necessary to cover the Cars' "Just What I Needed." While the song's raucous chorus won't be denied, Hazel hems and haws the verses, sucking them of the original's sharp-collar power and generally aligning their version with Frente!'s cutey-patootie tumble through the "Bizarre Love Triangle." In other words, Sister Hazel plays it so safe with Lift that their biggest selling point -- easy accessibility -- becomes their biggest liability. ~ Johnny Loftus
After years without major-label support or a radio hit, Sister Hazel still had healthy album sales and a busy touring schedule in 2004. It's a good thing that the group decided to stick it out, because LIFT is one of Sister Hazel's most accomplished efforts. A hard-working road-warrior band, the Gainsville, Florida-based combo easily moves between Zippo-waving post-grunge ("Surrender"), RUMOURS-era Fleetwood Mac-style folk rock ("Hold On"), blistering Lenny Kravitz-like guitar heroics ("I Will Come Through"), and even a bit of Little Feat-esque Southern funk ("All the Love"). Like the latter, Sister Hazel seems to be able to play just about any style in an equally convincing, soulful manner, and, on LIFT, the diversity of the group's talents is on full display.