Customer Rating: 
Summary: Over The Rhine - An Aural Gift for All
Comment: I first read about "Over The Rhine" in Paste Magazine. I heard the cut "Trouble" on one of their sample disks and I was hooked. Fun, jazzy arrangements with the sultry vocals of Karin Bergquist, who sounds like she enjoys vamping it up and wants to get into trouble! Not really a bad cut on this recording. Good arrangements and fine vocals. Everytime I play this recording for dinner guests they have run out and bought a copy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful versatility
Comment: I always enjoy listening to Over the Rhine, and so was intriqued by their new CD and the mixed reviews. Personally, I loved Trumpet Child, even though it is a definite departure from their usual musical style. The music ranges from haunting to playful, and is always beautiful. This is a definite addition to their collection and displays the wonderful versatility of this Ohio group!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Nice Addition to the OTR Catalogue
Comment: Over the Rhine is a band I've been listening to since the early nineties. OTR has the imaginative ability to reach new heights using any style they choose. Trumpet Child is no exception. Pushing away from the gospelesque swoons of Ohio and Drunkard's Prayer, their latest release is a collection of jazzy/swing sounds with some big band licks thrown in for good measure. And for those who still long for the gospel sounds of their previous two releases, the album tracks are essentially bookended with two tunes that won't disappoint. Loved this album.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best OTR Album Yet...
Comment: I love every single song on this album. I saw them on this tour before I knew any of these songs - amazing. Any and all of their albums are excellent, but this one creates a intimacy with the listener right away with "I Don't Wanna Waste Your Time." Karen and Linford's lyrical mastery continues to baffle me as I yearn to be able to write like that. If I had to buy this album again for any reason - I would!
Customer Rating: 
Summary: New Orleans Gumbo
Comment: It's hard to imagine anyone who likes more than two or three OTR albums not liking "Trumpet Child" - by definition you must have fairly eclectic tastes and a wide range of appreciation. This album has a few *classic* songs on it..and by that I mean that in 30 years, someone will hear them and it will grab the ear and still sound fresh.
A quick point: this album is *NOT* "Lounge" by any reasonable meaning of that label and certainly not "Jazzy" - a meaningless term. It is a distinctly *NEW ORLEANS* influenced record in a dozen different ways. Vaudeville, 60's stoner, ballads, and "I'm On a Roll" is so straight-out-of-the-swamp that you can smell the alligator fritters frying. "Trumpet Child" is a gumbo.
I will say that "Nothing is Innocent" is overstated. Even if you agree with the basic thrust of the political opinion here - and if you don't think it's political, note the Humpty Dumpty reference and white-washed walls - it's quite narrow-minded (in a historical sense) to think that, if innocence has been lost, it has much to do with what's happened politically over the past 8 years. I think that horse has long been out of the barn...
"Entertaining Thoughts" is pure pop genius. ~3 minutes of perfection in writing, performance, and producing. It's on the level of what you find on "Rubber Soul" or "Revolver"...yeah, I said it.
"Let's Spend the Day in Bed" is cool and clever and trippy...Matt Slocum had a lot to do with this one and I am reminded of the concert I saw in Chapel Hill, NC a few years back when he played with OTR. They did "Let It Be" as the final encore. Nuff said.
"Trouble" is one of the quirkiest and most successful songs you will never hear played on the radio. The mix of sounds and transitions and rhythmic shifts (check out what's going on during the bridge!) is brilliant. And of course, Karin is Karin.
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