This 2003 release has been flying underneath the indie pop radarscope for too long! Kudos to Bruce Brodeen at Not Lame for discovering this gem and making it available to pop fans! Toss in some strong Canyon Rock influences (everything from Dillard & Clark, the Sweetheart-era Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers to contemporary artists like the Beachwood Sparks), some Southern California sunshine pop, some solo Gene Clark references (check out the acoustic guitar lead-in to "The Queen Of Nine Worthies") and some Simon & Garfunkel-styled harmonies on "Golden Afternoon" and you've got one exceptional disc. Jangle'n'twang enthusiasts will love the blending of pedal steel guitar with 12-string guitar riffs. Let's keep our fingers crossed that there is a sophomore effort from these young and very talented artists!

I owe Chris Mondia an apology. When I received his Green Fields CD, I expected yet another bluegrass offering: The cover art (a mountain scene) and the name readily evoked this typecast. But by the end of the first song, "The Queen of Nine Worthies," my thoughts had drifted to California-coast cruises and Roger McGuinn lullabies. Hailing from Horse Shoe, N.C., Mondia's band sounds more like 2,000 miles west of here. The production is first rate, and each song pulses with tra-la-las, pedal steel landscapes, brass arrangements, and enough acoustic sounds to remind ears, that, yes, the Green Fields reside in WNC.

The album artwork to The Green Fields most recent album, Melodies for Afternoon, takes you back to another era. Part 50s-60s jazz design, part late 60s folk design. A hazy picture of a moutain village on the cover and a dreamy photograph of a beautiful folk girl on the back make an instant impression. Inside, the music is highly influenced by the traditions of folk but contain a heavy western or country style, complete with spacey (as in cosmic) pedal steel guitars, southern California pop-charm, and wonderfully simple vocals and great, catchy melodies. Melodies for Afternoon couldn’t be a more apt title. The songs of writer, producer, arranger, mixer and engineer Chris Mondia are perfect for an afternoon stroll, a lazy float down a river, a nap under a shade tree or any other delights which a cool afternoon could bring to someone. Mondia is somewhat of a phenom, singing all lead vocals and the vast majority of the background vocals as well as instruments like 6 & 12 string guitars, bass, mandolin, autoharp, keyboards, bells, percussion and even drums on one track. Though, on Melodies he is backed by Charlie Cissel on drums; Stephen Webster on trumpet, mellophone, and Wurlitzer; Brian Homan on pedal steel; Chris Estes on banjo, trombone; and Susan Crawford who provides rare but nice touches of female background vocals on a few songs. Mondia and his band have a deep sense of of the great historical traditions of folk, country and pop music. They are not pushing boundaries of experimentation on this record, but they are pushing the limits of amazing musicianship. It’s not a derivative album but is highly influenced by 60s southern California folk and pop music which breathes fresh air not only into the newer more experimental folk music of the day but of the many mainstream indie and major label bands who have been simply ripping off and reappropriating Gram Parsons’ style (take for instance that Irish band, The Thrills, who sing about surfing and southern California culture, as if Ireland has any relation to such a distinct locale). Even though The Green Fields do not reside from California and are from Asheville, NC—Mondia has his arrow aimed perfectly at the great Americana musical traditions. But, as their press release notes, and I couldn’t have put it better myself, “Classfication of music by genre is a myth, the only thing that matters is how it makes you feel.” And Melodies for Afternoon is going to make you feel like you are having the best day of your life, even if you are just lying on the couch listening to The Green Fields’ stellar sounds on your stereo. Mondia and company have created a record that can take you places, make you feel things, without you ever moving. You just bask, as on of their songs goes, “in those green fields” in your mind and get taken away by some of the most adept and stunning sounds around and maybe you will even find yourself breaking into “La la la’s” in the process with a big ol’ smile on your face.

"Somewhere in the zone of Roger Nichols, Teenage Fanclub, Cosmic Rough Riders, Bacharach, and Gene Clark. Maybe that sounds crazy, but I`ll stick by it. Really first class song writing and one that deserves to reach a LOT more ears. Fans of Americana that`s unafraid to be pretty and evocative of geography & place, deeply pastoral will find SO much to cheer in this terrific debut." So says Not Lamer Craig Leve, who turned us onto this Asheville, NC band that is going to blow many of you, as it did us here, *away*. Yes, all those bands....but I`ll add a small dips and dashes of Sagitarrius, Simon & Garfunkel, Flying Burrito Brothers, Beachwood Sparks and Poco to the above, as well.

The dusky haze of an afternoon’s picnic, the place California, the time, 1960’s, sideburns, women in flowery shift dresses with golden afternoon light bathing them - this is this record in essence. Nostalgia for a simpler past, beautiful warm guitar tones and a painstaking eye for detail, the Byrds at their gentlest, hints of the Searchers, pedal steel like a distant freight train, all the lushness of a California harvest, tambourines and sleigh bells, the instrumental ‘Tree & Leaf’ with its brass embellishments can hold its own in any company.

The green Fields sound as a link name, but behind these de-paden-op-de-lanen-in-naam hide one Chris Mondia. Mondia take virtually everything at its expense, including production and arrangements. On this basis does he deserve already the highest compliments, but that is not yet enough, because how well its debuutcd Melodies For Afternoon are (Triple-B record)? , I must observe considerable good. The green Fields laveert between baroque headstock and Cosmic American Music, between Bacharach and Parsons therefore. The cosmic tintje come already direct forward in the opener The Queen or Nine Worthies, in which whining pedal stalk take it against slightly-light-light-lift-psyhedelic impact. A splendour number which directly gets plaatsje in my digital jukebox. Molda use here and there folky motiefjes, but he is real on its best if he mixes country and headstock. With the commitment of Wurlitzer-piano, autoharp and banjo Mondia and kornuiten introduce colour the for the most part very well composities. Late October Dream a fraai orchestrated popsong is; Come Walking and One Closed does think hand to the late Byrds and to Beachwood Sparks. The green Fields have to therefore not only green offer fields, but also lichtgetinte psyhedelic colours and gold-coloured californische strand.

Striking it rich with a title that fits, The Green Fields' Melodies For Afternoon possesses a timeless, wistful sound that blends dreamy California country and sunshine pop with hints of Bacharach and Jimmy Webb to a most delightful end. In actuality, The Green Fields is the recording name of Asheville, NC based songwriter/producer/arranger Chris Mondia. While conjuring up imagery of lazy Sundays through multi-layered orchestrations that are spacious, lush and playful, Mondia sings of organic relations supported by organic settings. "Ellendale Flower", "Tree & Leaf", "Late October Dream", The Wind & Pain" and "Golden Afternoon" are a few titles that more than suggest the natural elements infused within. While handling much of the instrumentation himself, Mondia has brought in a small circle of friends to help out with pedal steel, drums, banjo, trombone, trumpet and harmony vocals.

The Green Fields give us a fascinating “what if” for the history of rock ‘n roll. “What if “ the Byrds had expanded on their original theme of “SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO” instead of the half-hearted “DR. BYRDS & MR. HYDE”? The Green Fields’ MELODIES FOR AFTERNOON show what could have been if the Byrds hadn’t been diverted down a slow road of mediocrity. The original theme of the Byrds SWEETHEART album was to incorporate not just country-rock, but also brass and other progressive sounds and that is just what the Green Fields do, with amazing results. Plus the Green Fields add an interesting array of other instruments and harmonies, making this album almost seem like a country rock version of the Rolling Stones “AFTERMATH”.
Sure, there are some classic Byrds sounds (pedal steel and mandolin) plus spot-on Roger McGuinn vocals on some songs. But don’t think that the Green Fields are merely another alt-country band. I consider them PRE-alt-country as their music sounds authentic and not bandwagonesque. So, if you want to hear a “classic ‘60s album that never was” pick up MELODIES FOR AFTERNOON.