Comments for Uncle Bonsai, A Lonely Grain of Corn

I ran across this several years ago. It was on tape, and I highly regretted ever losing track of it. I have their CD "Inessential...", and love it. I called the phone number on the CD and talked to Andrew Ratshin (I believe). Very nice guy.

Uncle Bonsai is an odd sort of group--some of their songs are serious, some are humorous. One considers the possibility that if they would have stuck with one or the other they may have been more successful commercially. But then again, one of the reasons they were such a great group was that they didn't abandon their sound or style in the interest of success. I have three of their albums (all but the compilation "Inessential") and recommend all three if you can find them, which, unfortunately, is almost impossible.

There's now a new Uncle Bonsai compact disc called "Doug". It's available on Yellow Tail Records (www.yellowtailrecords.com) and features the original Uncle Bonsai, along with Electric Bonsai Band and Mel Cooleys, live in concert performing all of Andrew Ratshin's Doug songs.

Great album! Go to http://members.aol.com/ytrecords/ and you can get all the CD''s that are available. I wish Freckle records would put this out on CD.

This first album by legendary (within the genre) Seattle folk trio Uncle Bonsai is a delightful mix of wry humor and thoughtful sentiment, extraordinary vocal harmonies and taut instru-mental arrangements. Lead singer/ songwriter Andrew Ratshin is one of contemporary folk`s finest lyricists, and his amazing high tenor blends seamlessly with Arni Adler`s expressive altoand Ashley Kristen`s (then Ashley Eichrodt) clear soprano. The songs are all gems; highlights include the hard-rocking satire "Billboard Love"; the surreal reggae of "Day old Whale";"Charlie and Me" a lovely ballad; and "Penis Envy," novelty tune or political statement? You decide. This album is out of print, it`s worth the trouble to find it if you can.

I think I went to junior high with Ashley, and she was into odd harmonies then. Is this group still around?