Amazon.com Review of Shapeshifter
Reviewer: A music fan from San Jose, CA United States 	
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Tempest is a celtic-folk-rock band that reminds me of Fairport Convention in its heyday. 
This is their tenth CD, but the first with this line-up. 
The CD has cohesiveness, despite several different styles of music. The band really plays 
as a true ensemble, with leads being shared by the 3 lead instruments (guitar, fiddle, mandolin). 
It seems like the band has made a conscious effort to get closer to their live sound than 
previous releases, and this is an excellent decision. 
After listening several times I realized that I didn't notice the rhythm section. The reason 
being that the drums (Adolfo Lazo) and bass (Mark Skowronek) play exactly perfectly for each 
song. Both play interesting parts that never "stand out" because of inappropriateness or 
over playing. The rhythm section is superb (and I'm a guitarist, so I very seldom give praise 
to a rhythm section). Adolfo continues to be the heartbeat of the Tempest sound while never 
getting repetitive or boring. 
Sue Draheim's fiddle has a very warm and rich sound (production by Robert Berry) that just 
highlights her beautiful playing. Sue really gets to the heart of the song with her playing 
and makes the melodies come alive, without overpowering the band. It sounds like Sue used an 
acoustic violin rather than her electric violin, this really adds to the harmonic resonance, 
and gives it a depth and warmth. 
Ronan Carroll is the newest member of the band, and an excellent guitarist. Based on this 
recording, you would think he'd been in the band for years. His playing varies nicely from 
melodic and mellow to almost heavy metal sound. Like all members of Tempest, his playing fits 
the songs exactly as needed without overplaying. 
Lief Sorbye, the lead vocalist and mandolin player, as always gives a strong and dynamic 
performance. Lief is one of the few singers who seems to live the song as he sings it. 
There's an old Incredible String Band song that has the line "You know all the words and you've 
sung all the notes, but you've never quite learned the sung you've sung". This is NOT the case 
with Tempest; they seem to have learned the songs very well. 
The harmony singing on this release is very different than prior Tempest releases due to the two 
high voices of Sue Draheim and Mark Skowronek. In all cases, the harmonies, really work well in 
supporting the songs. Of particular note are Tamosher and Cruel Brother. On Winter Night, Mark 
uses a different register, and it really is a nice counter point to Lief Sorbye's lead vocal. 
The only weakness I see is in some of the song choices. Some songs work great live, but have a 
tendency to get stale on repeated listening on CD. The two that I think don't hold up are Old Man 
At The Mill and Byker Hill. 
The traditional choices other that the two above are outstanding - Tamosher, Coalminers', 
Fjellmannjenta and Cruel Brother. The original material - Catalina Island, Natural Law, Carnival 
and Winter Night - is as strong as the above traditional tunes. 
There are a few standout tracks. Coalminers' is one of the best instrumental pieces that Tempest 
has done. Strong melodies, excellent playing. Tamosher and Cruel Brother rank up there with the 
best of traditional material played by a rock band (think Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, etc.) 
Winter Night written by Mark is a very pleasant surprise, with a strong tune and good lyrics. The 
highlight of the original songs was for me - Natural Law, with strong tune and good lyrics, somehow 
this song just gets me every time. 
The best track of all, and the only reason you need for buying this CD, is Cruel Brother. At 10 
minutes and 5 seconds, it's too short (and very seldom do long tracks justify their length.) 
Cruel Brother flows from section to section without ever seeming forced. The fiddle moves it along 
in the beginning, and then the true Tempest ensemble sound takes over, and you don't notice if the 
melody is played by fiddle mandolin or guitar. Beautiful harmonies from Sue and Mark augment an 
impressive lead vocal from Lief. 
Overall, the best CD from Tempest so far. Don't miss this one.