REVIEW
Little Man
Steve Wildey
Finally a purely instrumental album arrives
at our office and it’s Steve Wildey’s Little Man. The winner of the 2005 South Florida Folk Festivals Fingerstyle competition and 1st runner up at the 10th annual Gambel Rogers Folk Festival Fingerstyle competition brings a lot of technical and lyrical skills to this CD. Often instrumentals are accused of lacking feeling. Not so with the standout track for us: “Seasons Of Life”. With its complex arrangement, Widley manages to weave a lyrical and melancholic melody line through the entire track.
This ability to retain the listener’s attention through technically demanding fingerstyle arrangements is a particular skill even with the varied styles on the CD. From the Travis style picking on “Love’s A Twister” to the restrained chordal work on “Yellow”, the entire album is more a showcase of the skills Wildey has to offer. We look forward to his work, and in particular what can be achieved with a focused album.
GUITARBENCH P LAY E R S | LU T H I E R S | C O LLE C T O R S
ACOUSTIC&CLASSICAL
Issue Tree 2012
GUITARBENCH EDITOR: Terence Tan CO-EDITOR: Jessica Pau SALES/MARKETING: Jessica Pau PROOFREADER: Doug Shaker Contributing Writers: El McMeen, Ken Bonfield, Jose Bernardo WEBSITES: guitarbench.com Our Online Magazine: www.guitarbench. com
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REVIEW
Songs About Something Richard Geller
Without the need for TV judges or audiences, Richard Geller’s Songs About Something has succeeded.
With elegant simplicity, the tracks draws you in and inspires the listener to explore the wider scope of Geller’s work- novels & poetry. Geller has played to large audiences at the Swannanoa Gathering, opened for Gretchen Witt, and had the first track of this album, “Every Time I See Your Face” selected for a national TV campaign. So he’s not exactly “new”. But he is unjustly little known by the public. His delivery is ideally suited to the quietly, carefully penned lyrics.
As singer-songwriters go, some have great vocals, others great guitar licks. Geller’s greatest tool are his lyrics and an ability to restrain the guitar accompaniment to just the right level of complexity. Standout tracks include “If You Must”, with almost lullaby feel to it and “Every Time I See Your Face”, more up front with its vocals.
You’re missing a lot of great content in Issue3 Click here for the full ISSUE! INTERVIEWS
David Wren 52-65 Kris Barnett 66-79 Megan Slankard 80-82
LESSONS Celtic Guitar Masterclass with Anton Emery: Celtic Backup 40-44
FEATURES Guitar Anatomy 6-7 Honduran Mahogany 9-10 The Tree Mahogany 12-13
SPECIAL FEATURE All instruments featured in this issue are feature highly figured Mahogany from “The Tree”
Kostal Modified Dreadnought 14-22 Ryan Dragonfly 24-29 Wells The Atlantic 34-37 Elliott Steel String Model 30-33 Breedlove OM Revival 38-39 Mauel McCloud 45-48 Miller Dreadnought 49-51 Kraut Modified Dreadnought 84-85 Saville Small Jumbo 86-90 McElroy Standard 94 Shimo Sugilite 95 True North Guitar Model 1 96-99 Fleishman 100-102 Woolson Ukulele 103-104
REVIEWS Little Man 91 Songs About Something 92 Acoustic Bossa Nova 93
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REVIEW
Acoustic Bossa Nova
Ida Landsberg & Simon Salvatore
Acoustic Bossa Nova is the vehicle for Ida Landsberg to bring a Latin Jazz tinge to contemporary popular music. Accompanied by long time collaborator Simon Salvatore, the result is an easy listening CD. Ida possesses a unique vocal talent. With a classical training in singing, piano, flute, music theory, Ida always seems to find her own particular way to portray the vocal element of a song. On this album, her vocals are characteristically light and bouncy whilst retaining a high level of expressiveness.
Many of the songs consistent of just a guitar and Ida’s vocals. Yet they remained harmonically rich despite the use of space between musical motifs and phrases. Does the translation of pop music to a Bossa Nova style work? Well some tracks come off better- “The Look of Love” is surprisingly refreshing and we all know “Fragile” works within the context of a Jazz theme.
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