Hit List

Rhett Miller, The Instigator.

Not many pop musicians can pull off a song about Richard Wagner's and Franz Kafka's relationships with their mistresses, but Rhett Miller has always displayed an affinity for mixing highbrow references into his tales of love and inebriation. On his first major-label solo album, Miller trades the twang of his alt-country rock band the Old 97's for pop, infusing his perceptive, slangy lyrics with heartfelt emotion and pairing them with melodies that beg to be sung—loudly. Miller's justification for his profession, "This Is What I Do," is pure pop perfection and a compelling argument for picking up a guitar. His buoyant and boyish vocals are nicely countered by Robyn Hitchcock's guest vocal on "Point Shirley," an empathetic look at depression, bringing a dark edge to the song's joyous '50s rock vibe. The rich vocal arrangement and heartbeat-like percussion on the sparse "Terrible Vision" recalls the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and puts a tender spin on Miller's unrequited lover persona. (Elektra, www.elektra.com)

—Nicole Solis

Peter Rowan and Don Edwards, High Lonesome Cowboy.

You don't have to be a fan of western music to enjoy this collection of traditional cowboy songs performed by singer-composer Peter Rowan and Don Edwards, who has been called "America's purest cowboy singer." The ambience is easygoing, and Rowan takes a largely supporting role, lending a sweet tenor to Edwards' warm baritone. It's an especially satisfying disc for guitar lovers. Rowan and Edwards are joined by Tony Rice and Norman Blake, whose distinctive and very different styles are often combined on a single cut. This guitar-heavy instrumentation (some songs have as many as four guitars) creates a wonderfully warm "wall of wood" sound. Spare arrangements showcase Blake's flawless tone and timing, and Rice's solos range from lyrical to fiery. (Western Jubilee/Shanachie, www.westernjubilee.com)

—Sue Thompson

Hot Club of Cowtown, Ghost Train.

On their fourth CD, Austin's Hot Club of Cowtown blends western swing, Tin Pan Alley songs, and Gypsy jazz into a new acoustic fusion filled with passion and great playing. Whit Smith's ancient Gibson L-5 swings from Samois to San Antonio, providing both rhythmic pulse and melodic drive for the small ensemble. Sweet-voiced Elana Fremerman draws in the listener with her coquettish vocals and then finishes them off with her powerful, engaging fiddle lines reminiscent of western swing greats like Johnny Gimble, Joe Holley, and Buddy Spicher. (HighTone, www.hightone.com)

—David McCarty

Alex de Grassi and G.E. Stinson, Shortwave Postcard.

On this fascinating and enjoyable recording, contemporary fingerstyle legend Alex de Grassi teams with Shadowfax cofounder G.E. Stinson to create a musical landscape more often associated with experimental guitarists like Steve Tibbetts and Fred Frith. Prepared guitars, gurgling electronic sounds, and noise vie with fragmented acoustic guitar arpeggios to create a musical world that will startle anyone with preconceived notions about de Grassi's music. De Grassi plays acoustic six- and 12-string, baritone, and high-strung guitars, while Stinson uses electric guitars and bass. These sessions, largely improvised and recorded with a minimum of preparation, will be of interest to de Grassi fans and devotees of spatial experimentation. (Auditorium, www.auditoriumedizioni.it)

—Gary Joyner

Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden (Columbia/Legacy); Various artists, Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash (DualTone); Various artists, Kindred Spirits: A Tribute to the Songs of Johnny Cash (Lucky Dog/ Sony).

It's Johnny Cash's 70th birthday, and everybody's coming to the party. Produced by ex-bandmember Marty Stuart, Kindred Spirits represents the best of the mainstream, with standout performances by Bob Dylan ("Train of Love"), Bruce Springsteen ("Give My Love to Rose"), Dwight Yoakam ("Understand Your Man"), and Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sheryl Crow, and Emmylou Harris ("Flesh and Blood"). It's consistently heartfelt, lively, and surprising, with Johnny and June joining cousin Janette Carter on Cash's "Meet Me in Heaven." Recorded for a fraction of the budget, the alt-country Dressed in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash covers a much narrower range of music but comes closer to the spirit of Cash's original band, the Tennessee Two. With guest vocals laid on top of a house band, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis harmonize on "Pack Up Your Sorrows," Rodney Crowell cuts a classic "Ballad of a Teenage Queen," and Robby Fulks goes full tilt on "Cry, Cry, Cry." Columbia/Legacy has been spending the year (Cash's 70th birthday was on February 26, 2002) reissuing albums from his back catalog and closes its celebration with Johnny Cash at Madison Square Garden, recorded at the height of his popularity in 1969 and never issued. It's a long way from the rough-and-rugged prison concerts at Folsom (1968) and San Quentin (1969). This smooth set of contemporary country captures the feeling of Cash's TV variety show, complete with appearances by the Carter Family, Carl Perkins, and the Statler Brothers. It's the perfect way to hear Cash the entertainer—charming a New York crowd with a medley of hits, a set of gospel songs, and a story of his childhood.

—Kenny Berkowitz

Special Consensus, Route 10.

Greg Cahill, one of bluegrass banjo's longtime stars and veteran road warriors, has assembled what may be his best band ever, and the results are a picker's paradise. Mandolinist and lead singer Josh Williams' solos and bouncy rhythms percolate through the band, and his singing resonates with emotional depth and intensity. Guitarist Jamie Clifton burns through harmonically sophisticated solos on tunes like "Carolina in the Pines" with rare power and speed. Great singing, top-drawer picking, and a strong selection of tunes make Route 10 a most exciting drive. (Pinecastle, www.pinecastle.com)

—David McCarty

Frank Vignola, Chuck Redd, and Joe Byrd, Gypsy Soul.

Imagine a musical meeting of Django Reinhardt and Lionel Hampton. That's the effect of this wonderful live set featuring the superb, fiery guitar work of Frank Vignola and the smooth, swinging vibraphone playing of Chuck Redd. Bassist Joe Byrd makes it an awesome acoustic trio that works magic with "Stardust," "Undecided," "Nuages," "Avalon," and other standards with a keen sense of timing and inspired improvisations. Vignola and Redd take each tune skyward with ensemble and solo flights, while Byrd lays down a mighty groove and periodically steps out with some fine choruses. A great addition to the Gypsy jazz library. (JEB, www.joebyrdjazz.com)

—Jim Ohlschmidt

Chuck Pyle, Affected by the Moon.

With the first luscious guitar phrases and the smooth, silky baritone on his seventh album's title track, Chuck Pyle shows that his "southwest acoustic" style isn't just about place. His romantic themes take him from Paris to Texas, and his arrangements move with him—fingerpicking as light as a desert rose stands alongside Gypsy jazz and steady-on rhythms with a full-body groove. Pyle mixes originals that already sound classic with covers like "Blue Train" by Tom Kimmel and Jennifer Kimball and "Outlaw's Dream" by Jack Williams, and his lyrical wit is featured on the spoken/sung "Inside of My Face," an oddity that is too smart to be dark. (Bee 'n' Flower, www.chuckpyle.com)

—Kathryn Rutz

Michael Jerome Browne, Drive On.

You can't help but admire an artist with the daring and inspiration to cover songs by Blind Willie McTell, Irving Berlin, Stevie Wonder, and George Jones on the same CD. But Michael Jerome Browne, a master of fretless banjo and slide and fingerstyle guitar, makes the disparate songs on Drive On seem like old country cousins. Blending his stellar string work with a soulful, slightly raspy croon, he sounds utterly authentic on "Goin' Where I Never Been Before," an early African-American blues. A few breaths later, he is turning Wonder's "Gotta Have You" into a 12-string slide guitar number and jauntily running through Berlin's "He Ain't Got Rhythm" with a jazz combo. This is music that, thankfully, pays no respect to categorical boundaries. (Borealis, www.borealisrecords.com)

—Ian Zack

Hem, Rabbit Songs.

Brooklyn-based quartet Hem are the fortunate (and possibly sole) inhabitants of a mellow middle ground between country rock and chamber pop. The band's main songwriter, Dan Messe, draws from Tin Pan Alley, old-time country, and classical music to create simple, beautiful love songs that find their ultimate realization in Sally Ellyson's ethereal voice. Steve Curtis and Gary Maurer contribute graceful, flowing guitar and mandolin lines that intertwine with Ellyson's vocals and Messe's piano, glockenspiel, and harmonium. Rabbit Songs is a lush, exquisite, sophisticated album and a stunning debut. (Bar-None, www.bar-none.com)

—Nicole Solis

Ken Hatfield, Phoenix Rising.

Backed on this set of original, Latin-flavored instrumentals by a tight, swinging sextet, Ken Hatfield continues to explore the potential of nylon-string guitar in a jazz ensemble format. His inventive use of intricate chordal arpeggios combined with single-note lines in both his comping and soloing has developed into an instantly recognizable technique. Hatfield's solos, like his compositions, are elegant, polished, and always energetic and absorbing, as demonstrated on "Iberia," one of Phoenix Rising's many highlights. He also turns in a great jazz-blues performance on "Riff for Brother Jack," complete with saucy string bends and Monk-ish flights of fancy. (Arthur Circle, www.kenhatfield.com)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, February 2003, No. 122.

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