John Lowell "This Long Stretch of Gravel" 2019
John Lowell brings in some heavy hitters for This Long Stretch of Gravel, starting with Missy Raines-who plays bass throughout-and joined at times by the likes of Darol Anger, Claire Lynch, and Bill Payne of
Little Feat. That's great, but it's what you do with your firepower that counts. Lowell provides a lovely foundation with his originals, production, silky vocals and tasteful guitar leads (see: "New Phase of the Moon")
which frequently set up a guest's solo. Then, Lowell reserves space for his guests to make their contributions. The set list includes story songs ("Fergus County Jail"), love songs ("Without You Being Here with Me"), a
swing tune ("Good Things are Coming My Way"), a spiritual ("Jerusalem's Choir") and new numbers in the tradition ("A World Far Beyond"). "Walking My Blues Away," is a terrific place to start; if you are afflicted too,
Payne's piano, Lynch's harmonizing, and Lowell's tune should bring you around.
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David Kleiner
Del Scott Miller "Lantern" 2019
Start with track 5 of Del Scott Miller's Lantern if you want to hear him clearly establish his authority with instrumental guitar right away. On this tune entitled "The Beacon and the Brine," twirling
fingerstyle arpeggios dance around a solemn ache of a monologue rendered on fiddle by Dom Dudill. But this CD is about much more than fingerstyle, genre-ambiguous, with gritty vocals and poetic lyricism in
the spirit of British players of the past like John Martyn and Nick Drake. A Yorkshire history lesson humanizing the Oaks mining explosion in 1866 may be the most moving tune of this collection, an admittedly
unusual affirmation from this guitar website, given that there is nary one guitar heard, performed a capella.
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Alan Fark
Paul Cherrington "Martin & Me" 2015
British steel string fingerstyle guitarist Paul Cherrington has accompanied singer Pamela Ward on UK folk venues for many years. On this first solo recording, he shines on several originals and some well-known works
by other composers. His own compositions are reflective and often visually evocative. My favorites include the originals, "Sunset Over Cucklett Delf", which has a strong, singable melody, "Silent Movies", a nod to ragtime,
and the Scottish-inspired "Banchory". Cherrington's sensitive rendition of "In the Bleak Midwinter" deserves inclusion on holiday playlists. Near the end of the set he revisits ragtime with a nice meditative version of Scott
Joplin's long-lost "Silver Swan". This CD should sell well at Cherrington's performances and expand his audience.
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Patrick Ragains