Stillwater Rhythm is a collective of seven musicians who style themselves the next Grateful Dead or Rusted Root. Lots of acoustic guitar, lots of hand drums and other percussion, lots of long, extended jams -- sometimes to the point of plodding. Think of them as an Arrested Development for the next generation of hippies.
That said, there are some intelligent lyrics here. Vocalist Jeremy George has a tone that runs somewhere between Bob Dylan and the Spin Doctors. The musicians are talented and employ a variety of instruments including flute, recorder, ocarina, congas, djembe, as well as the traditional guitars, drums, and bass.
"Huck Finn and Mississippi Jim" presents a character who is making a choice between a long standing friendship and doing what other people think is right. "Rebecca" is a plea to a woman, begging her for another chance, done in Grateful Dead fashion. "Me and Joe" tracks two friends spending time together and their acceptance of Christ -- this sounds like Rusted Root if they were fronted by Bob Dylan.
"Call Down" is a long (11:20!) number, replete with American Indian percussion, wrapped around Philippians 4:8: "whatever things are pure, whatever things are excellent...". This is followed by an even longer instrumental entitled "Moroccan Drum Jam," which is exactly that followed with "Spiral Flutes."
The story of Zacchaeus is depicted in "To His House," but with a different twist -- it is shown through the eyes of Jesus, rather than Zacchaeus. The emphasis here is on the love of Christ for all types of people, regardless of social standing or what others think:
The religious, they all stood around
Just talking cheap, they were grumbling religiously
As we began to eat, saying
' how could he be a guest at that ole sinner's house,
he should be with us in the temple praising God
if nothing else.'
But I say being with the people is where I'm at
They need my love more than that...
At times interesting and thought-provoking, but at others methodical, Jam Pot will strike a chord with both younger listeners and older fans of the Dead, Phish, or other bands who let the music breathe going wherever it goes.
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