"Wooden Horses" by Laurence Juber

I don't usually like to be wrong, but in this case I am delighted. You see, in my post of July 25 I opined that Poppin' Guitars would be the "best" acoustic guitar CD of the year. Obviously I had not counted on a new CD from Laurence Juber. While "best" is a subjective term that I would prefer to avoid, I will say that I have heard no acoustic guitar CD that is finer -ever.

This CD features 13 wonderfully composed and immaculately performed pieces, as well as a bonus live track that is just amazing. Once again LJ has raised the bar for fingerstyle guitar, as he has done in the past with such albums as LJ Plays the Beatles, Guitarist, and I've Got the World on Six Strings. Laurence Juber seems to have virtually unlimited creativity, which this album amply demonstrates. The CD contains a wide variety of styles, but all are immediately recognizable as the masterful playing of Laurence Juber.

The CD begins with the bluesy sounds of Enough Is Never Enough. Punctuated by flashes of chords, melodic lines move sinuously, spinning out theme after brilliant theme, but always returning to their starting point. The increasing tension of the middle section builds to a big climax before returning us once more to the bluesy opening before its sudden disappearance. What a start!

Fans of LJ will remember Guitar Noir from the DVD of the same name. Here this wonderfully smooth Latin-grooved marvel is given the solo guitar treatment that only LJ can provide. As if the melody were not compelling enough, we are treated to LJ's improvisations on the tune for several choruses before returning to the theme. You don't have to be a musician to get caught up in this groove.

From the smooth suavity of Guitar Noir we move into the gorgeous realm of floating harmonies supporting an equally lovely melody in The Crow's Nest. This nautically-themed piece is actually a solo version of one part of LJ's Magellan Suite from 2000. Although the surface seems to offer unruffled smooth sailing there are some incredible changes of time in the middle that give just the right dose of the unexpected to keep this a most interesting voyage. Listen for the outstanding tone quality that LJ coaxes from his guitar in the middle section, sounding almost like a resonator has been suddenly added!

LJ's liner notes describe Maple Avenue Strut as "jazz on a maple guitar - images of tuxedos and high-kicking chorus girls from the 1930's". I also hear a family resemblance to some of the best playing of George van Eps from this period. This is solo swing at its very best. You don't have to realize the incredible virtuosity on display here to enjoy this infectious number. I am always glad to hear LJ play jazz because he has such a great feel for it, and this song is a perfect vehicle for him to shine.

Next comes an unusual sort of composition for LJ, a rather melancholy waltz entitled The Ornament Waltz. This piece wends its way through some very lovely harmony with a classically balanced melody full of straightforward grace. It never does give in to melancholy, and ends with more of a wistful feeling. One measure of an artist is how well they perform outside of their normal style, and here LJ shows us that he can master whatever he turns his mind to.

BIg chords usher in a change of mood before a funky groove takes over, bringing us into Rufus. This apparently canine-inspired work is yet another of LJ's creations that defy easy classification. Bluesy, funky, melodic, riff-based, and yet with a ballad feel to the melody, this is one fun song. Lucky dog!

Highway 17 has all of the drive and excitement that I imagine a quick zip down that road would hold. We are flying from the opening notes on a blues-inflected trip through curves of melody that sometimes feature hairpin curves and unexpected twists, always seeming to give way to those fast straightaways. This is such exciting music, and the tapped section in the middle is just one of the hair-raising sights along the way.

Things mellow out with the beautiful ballad Being Here With You. LJ is virtually singing this song through his guitar as it wafts along, seeming to defy gravity as the melody is buoyed up by effervescent harmonies. This one will surely bring out the romantic in you.

The title track Wooden Horses seems to have been inspired by those stalwart steeds of the carousel. This one has a real ragtime panache about it. It boldly strides through keys, just like changing horses as the merry-go-round is at full tilt. There is a lot of fun in this one, as well as an affectionate take on classic ragtime. As the carousel finally comes to a halt we are left with the choice: get off or go around one more time?

Double Agent starts of with an appropriately sneaky sounding groove before sliding into one of those melodies that will stay with you long after listening. Our agent has all sorts of adventures, and this is an easy song to imagine your own story into. Is that another spy furtively approaching? Maybe a trap set for the unwary? From the moody beginning this song has an ambience that it never loses and a mystery that only builds as it goes along. This song is identified as a solo version of the song Private Dick by LJ and Preston Reed on their album Groovemasters vol. 1 (on Solid Air records) and also on The Collection (also on Solid Air). I hear it as more of a re-composition, with lots of new material and more mystery added in. Yet another highlight in an album that is full of them.

After a mysterioso tremolando introduction we are treated to LJ's arrangement of Shebeg and Shemore. Several guitarists play an arrangement of O'Carolan's tune but none is more beautiful than this. Well-chosen chords update this gem from the Baroque, but never intrude on its sublime mood. The subtlety with which the melody is played makes this an unusually emotive version.

With Around The Block we return to a restive atmosphere that seems to be on the road toward some illusive future. All sorts of adventures befall us but we continue on with single-minded purpose. Even if we slow momentarily, we are back at it after quickly catching our breath. This is one big block that we are circumambulating. Fortunately it's an entertaining walk.

With Portobello Road LJ gives us some of his nostalgia for one of his haunts in West London in the late 70's. This song has a similar easy swing of the ambling Around the Block with memorable vignettes surrounded by a haunting recurring theme. This is yet another one that keeps running through my head - and I don't mind!

The CD closes out with Green Room Blues, an improvised solo blues that LJ came up with spontaneously in one of his live shows. What sweet blues these are, and what a great way to end the CD as we vicariously join the audience in applauding this outstanding performance and the whole fantastic CD.

I have a terrible feeling that I have not been able to do justice to this terrific album! This is a CD that no one will want to miss. Whether you are a guitarist or just a lover of good music, this CD is enjoyable as fine music as well as a tour de force of guitar technique. If you add just one guitar CD to your collection this year, make it this one. It's that good.

You can buy Wooden Horses at Acoustic Music Resource or from Amazon. EIther way, just buy it.

"The Dead Arm" by David Barrett

David Barrett is well-known among fingerstyle guitarists and enthusiasts in the Toronto area. He seems always ready to lend a hand when necessary for any of the events sponsored by fingerstyleguitar.ca, and he is always ready with a guitar to fill in when needed. A fine player himself, he is always encouraging to those who are less experienced, or up and coming.

Although David is an outstanding electric guitarist, with The Dead Arm he gives us a solo acoustic CD, only availing himself of multi-track recording for occasional percussion and one whole track. This project was 18 months in the making. During that time David Barrett composed all of the pieces, and then recorded them himself, acting as recording engineer, producer, and mastering engineer! But don't think that this sounds "home made" in any sense. This CD is as polished as any produced in a big-time, big-budget studio. Indeed, if David Barrett ever gets tired of playing he certainly could have a future as a producer!

The CD starts with the driving sound of Number Four. This is a truly short but sweet number that lets you know what is in store for you here: precise, musical technique capable of blinding flashes of virtuosity all in the service of the song.

While we are still hoping that there is more to come in Number Four, the pace slows into the pensive atmosphere of Turquoise. Here the opening dyads alternate with a fuller melody accompanied by simple chords. Careful listeners might note some similarities between these two ideas, while anyone will enjoy the interplay of these two ideas, and the contrast between a stark, stationary idea and a developing melodic one.

From the introspection of Turquoise we pass into the extroverted exoticism of Latika. This piece sounds like an Arabian-inflected, somewhat frenzied dance. David Barrett plays percussion as well as guitar on this one. Just as we reach a climax and expect things to calm down, the piece continues along with the strings muted until we finally reach a calm oasis. However, we are soon back into the mainstream, swept along as the melody dissolves into a frenzy of chords that bring us to the end - well, except for the terrific tag ending.

A soft slide lands us in The Galvo Garage. David Barrett shows us the many moods of his 1930's Regal Resonator Guitar with some very deft slide playing. The opening quieter mood wrestles against a livelier, jaunty tune, until it finally wins out in the end.

1981 (Song For Rick Norris) was written for his high school friend and fellow musician who passed away in 2008. From an inward-looking start this song develops a stolid strength that seems to hold its own against the buffets thrown its way. Never hurried, this song continues along a path that seems as inevitable as its own understated grace. A very touching and original memorial.

Padmasambhava begins with a frenzy of chords from David's 1966 Gibson B 25 12-string guitar. This texture is so rich you could be forgiven for suspecting more than one player, but this is solo guitar at its most exciting. The sparky dissonances propel this supercharged number like a turbo-charged jet, pausing once to catch its breath before racing on to its ultimate conclusion. You will be amazed at how fast this man can play on a 12-string!

Before we catch our breath we are into the funky atmosphere of The Dead Arm. The title track motors along in its own determined way with plenty of rhythmic propulsion. Once again David Barrett shows himself a master of creating memorable moods. He is able to slide sinuously from one mood to another, but he is also capable of sudden changes of direction that give the song a whole new depth. This one is worth playing over again just to savour it one more time.

The Malbec Thieves starts with the rich sounds of over-dubbed mandolins, seven in all. This is the only departure from pure solo playing and it creates such a wonderful atmosphere that you will not be complaining. Far from it, this is yet another song that you will wish would go on and on.

The Pelham Puppet starts off with a lively melody tripping lightly over an insistent thudding bass. The interplay of these two contrasting ideas is the foundation of this piece. They work through the changes together until a big chord lets the melody loose for a quick cascade before the two join up again. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The Art of Dreaming Part I shows the wide range of sound that David Barrett coaxes from his 1970 Gibson Hummingbird Custom tuned to DADGAD. Strummed chords and arpeggios alternate in the huge sonic space that this guitar creates. You will be taken as much with the great guitar sound as with the song itself. When the opening theme returns at the end it is like the sun coming out after a storm ... but it does not stay sunny for long!

Part I slowly winds down into silence, when we are transported to a bright, brilliant flourish opening. This is The Art of Dreaming Part II and the wonderful sound is provided by David's 12-string laud. The laud is an old Spanish instrument, similar to a 12-string guitar but tuned a major third higher. The doubled strings and high pitch give this piece its brilliance, and it is recorded beautifully. This is indeed artful music to dream to.

For Tiger Balm, David returns to a guitar in standard tuning, but unusual for him, he plays with a thumb pick. It begins with a rambunctious but funky muted guitar, before opening up to some very fine fingerpicking. Once again David Barrett comes up with a completely original creation of a memorable mood. And what an ending to the CD!

This is an album that not only holds up to repeated listening, but gets better. I find myself enjoying it more each time, finding new phrases or counter-melodies or hearing something new in the blaze of notes passing by. There is no doubt that David Barrett is a fine guitarist, but more important he is a very fine musician who never lets technical pyrotechnics interfere with the music. Yes, there is lots of great playing here, but always in the service of an equally great song.

You can listen to excerpts from all the songs, and also buy the album or individual songs at cdbaby. It is also available on iTunes. Be sure to listen because you will like what you hear!