I love one-take albums and here's a good one. No need to spend months with the works in the can waiting for countless over-caffeinated reassessments at the mixing board softly killing the original intent of the art. George Ensle and the Groove Angels Ensemble walk into a radio station studio and put it all on the line with Austin, Texas listening. The result is an album that has every instrument inflection still in tact, each tiny faux pax in place, every groove preserved. Like a master's painting, each crack of drying paint becoming character and defying critique, one-take albums are for all of us to hear the chemistry of the musicians without the distraction of a crowd. Live albums are different in that we get to hear the musicians feeding off the energy of the crowd.I like a good one-take album because I can hear the groove being hit by the collective souls of the musicians, synergistically creating something that was never there before, and not requiring induced energy created by spectators. Ensle and the GAE conjure the groove on almost every cut of this release, and when they hit it, you can feel it. It's there on the opening cut "Uncle Jack" and you'll hear it throughout the album. The project has many attributes and is a worthy release showing a great deal of the softer side of George Ensle with poignant ballads as well as a couple of nice toe-tappers. Ensle's writing is solid, as expected. Greg Lowry's dobro and Greg Whitfield's guitar steal the instrumental spotlight. The highlight of the disc is one you might have to sit down for. Sit down, put on some headphones and play "The Troubadour" at a moderate level. Imagine the singer has recently ingested a performance-altering amount of vodka and the room is smoky and dim. Imagine the rhythms going softly off beat now and then and a couple of subtle time signature changes. Imagine Wrecks Bell on bass and Mickey White on lead guitar. Imagine just coming in out of the hot Houston air, stepping into the hallowed confines of the original Old Quarter. Now listen, and you'll hear Ensle as he channels the very soul of Townes Van Zandt. For a second, if you listen very close, you might hear Townes singing along.

George Ensle was nominated for
Texas Academy of Music Awards
Singer / Songwriter of the YEAR

Austin Song Writers Group
Award Winner for
"It's a Texas Thang"

Thursday, January 31st
George Ensle Day in Austin, Texas!
January 31, 2008 was proclaimed
George Ensle Day in Austin, Texas
by Mayor Will Wynn

Friday, Feburary1st
Fox 7 News: Good Day Austin
Click to Watch Video