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Nickel Creek has gone on an indefinite hiatus from playing together as a group (other than scheduled appearances at summer festivals). In the lull, Sugar Hill has hastily compiled a "greatest hits" package from the talented trio entitled Reasons Why. Violinist Sara Watkins, mandolin player Chris Thile, and guitarist Sean Watkins mix their trademark bluegrass sounds with a freeform style that refuses to be categorized (much like Radiohead used to do). 

Everything a Nickel Creek fan would expect to find is here..."Smoothie Song," "Reasons Why," a phenomenal live version of "The Fox," and all of the other songs that helped create an extremely loyal fan base. Selections from the most recent album, Why Should the Fir Die?, are a little top heavy (5 of 12), and there are a few notable omissions for fans to argue about ("In the House of Tom Bombadil" comes to mind), but for the most part, this is a decent comprehensive representation of the band's Sugar Hill years. 

The bonus DVD contains videos for seven songs, all of which are included on the CD except for "Speak." They do a fair job of showing that the band can reproduce live what they do on CD, and remind us of how young (and photogenic) they truly are. 

One of the songs on the CD included is "Can't Complain." Well, I can. Were I producing this disc, it would have included two things that are for the most part missing from this disc: more vocal leads by Sara Watkins, and at least one more instrumental piece. A few new fans for fans that own their entire discography wouldn't have hurt either. Still, for a new or casual fan, this is a fine collection of perhaps their best known songs, and the quality of those is undeniable. 

Brian A. Smith
30 January 2007