Rusted Root "When I Woke"

Rusted Root were part of the first wave of post-hippie jam bands and perhaps the most commercially successful of ‘em all, as 1994’s When I Woke, their second record and first major label release, went platinum. In fact, the band’s popularity transcends the bonds of this planet, as their hit “Send Me on My Way” was chosen as the “wake-up” music for the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity! But we Earthlings have heard that song everywhere on our own terrestrial airwaves, from sitcoms like New Girl to movies like Ice Age. Grateful Deadstyle acoustic jams, Peter Gabrielesque chants, and Graceland-like world beats infuse this music with both heady nostalgia and forwardlooking fusion; latter-day bands like The Polyphonic Spree definitely owe a debt to Rusted Root. But it’s the spiritual concerns of lead songwriter Michael Glabicki that lend When I Woke its healthy heft…this album’s got more on its mind that just having a good time (though it is all that and more!). For its long, long-awaited