The compilers of Into the Music, Vol. 1: Jam Bands usually stick close to the accepted definition of jam band on this 13-track collection, which means there are a lot of post-Dead bands of all persuasions -- from the literal (Ratdog, Mickey Hart, the Dead themselves) to the inspirational (String Cheese Incident, Medeski Martin & Wood, Jazz Is Dead). That makes the couple of deviations from the norm -- namely, Frank Zappa and the peerless Little Feat -- stick out like sore thumbs, even if both artists really do like to jam, and since they do, they don't hurt the momentum of this record much at all. And if anybody was wondering what the term "jam bands" really meant, this will give a good idea of what it's all about, since it does have many of the genre's heavy-hitters (alas, no Phish -- the band that defined and transcended the genre), and even if it doesn't capture them at their very best, the general idea still comes across loud and clear. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide