Hit List

Terri Binion, Fool.

Midway between the spirited bluegrass of Alison Krauss and the folk realism of Nanci Griffith stands Terri Binion, with a soft, twangy voice and steady guitar strums. Backed by a full band, including ardent fan Lucinda Williams on harmony vocals, Binion's stories about plain folk and their uphill struggles resonate with a clear-eyed simplicity. They include the battered wife in "All She Ever Dreamed" and the bereft girlfriend in "Fool" who's trying to get up and dust herself off. This is a perfect disc to play on days gone wrong; Binion is a sage of life's common, yet no less painful, crises of the heart. (Richter, www.richterrecords.net)

—Karen Iris Tucker

 

Jack West and Curvature, Around About Now.

Playing a Jeff Traugott eight-string flattop, Jack West is the acoustic counterpart to Charlie Hunter's radical "guitar and bass at once" approach to jazz guitar; West's ability to keep a solid bass line moving while comping or playing single-note lines is stunning. Curvature's ensemble of pedal steel guitar (played by David Phillips), electric marimba (Joel Davel), and drums (Darian Gray) fuses bebop-inspired jazz, folk, and a jam band attitude into an irresistibly cool, intriguingly textured style. The album's seven cuts groove hard, and West's playful, exploratory interplay with Phillips brings out the best in two uniquely gifted musicians. (Ahead Behind, www.aheadbehind.com)

—Teja Gerken

Bull Harman, Rosewood, Spruce, and Ebony.

Bull Harman's name may not be broadly known among guitar fans, but it should be; he's as fine a bluegrass flatpicker as you're likely to hear. He balances his silvery tone and silky touch with a punchy attack, swinging backbeat, and penchant for chord voicings with major seconds that ring like a bell. Rosewood, Spruce, and Ebony is beautifully recorded, bringing out both the boom and brilliance of Harman's dreadnought. Featuring a bevy of heavy-hitting guest artists, the program includes songs and instrumentals ranging from old-timey to contemporary Nashville. Particular treats include Carl Jackson's singing of his clever, poignant "C.F. Martin and Me," Bo Jamison's sweet vocal on "Snowbird," and "Lost in the Shuffle," a hip, sinuous bluegrass instrumental. (Bull's Eye, www.bullharman.com)

—Sue Thompson

 

The Jayhawks, Rainy Day Music.

After a worthy two-album detour through expansive pop studio craft, it's back to "y'all-ternative" basics for the Jayhawks. Produced with rustic understatement by roots-rock mastermind Ethan Johns, Rainy Day Music captures the Minneapolis alt-country heroes in their melancholy, melodic element. Timeless folk-rockers like "Stumbling Through the Dark," "Tailspin," "All the Right Reasons," "Save It for a Rainy Day," and "Angelyne" echo the autumnal spirit of the band's landmark 1990s triumphs Hollywood Town Hall and Tomorrow the Green Grass and stir a strong hint of southern California shimmer into the mix. The pared-down core trio of singer-songwriter/guitarist Gary Louris, bassist Marc Perlman, and drummer Tim O'Reagan enlists vocal and instrumental support from former Long Ryders utility man Stephen McCarthy, Jakob Dylan, Matthew Sweet, Chris Stills, and founding Burrito Brother and Eagle Bernie Leadon. This graceful 14-song set marks an enduring band's welcome return to what it does best. (Lost Highway, www.losthighwayrecords.com)

—Mike Thomas

 

Steve James, Fast Texas.

Steve James, the country blues and bottleneck guitar wiz originally from New York, pays tribute here to his adopted state of Texas, where his virtuoso picking and songwriting muscle have made him legendary in Austin's nightspots. James conjures the spirits of iconic Texans Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Mance Lipscomb, turning Lipscomb's "Jack O' Diamonds," for instance, into a Johnsonesque showpiece for National steel-bodied guitar. But it's James' nods to such lesser lights as Houston slide king Hop Wilson ("Chicken Stuff") and originals like the locomotively plucked title track that make Fast Texas a real keeper. Much of the album features James backing himself on guitar, mandolin, and guitar-banjo, but Seattle resonator guitar queen Del Rey and Asleep at the Wheel Dobroist Cindy Cashdollar lend their tasty fingerwork on several tunes. (Burnside, www.burnsiderecords.com)

—Ian Zack

 

Kathleen Edwards, Failer.

With a sound halfway between that of Aimee Mann and Lucinda Williams, Kathleen Edwards writes smart, road-weary, alt-country songs fueled with drink and filled with despair. Despite her childhood as a diplomat's daughter and dreams of being a classical violinist, these songs feel honest, as dark as the Whiskeytown albums that inspired her to begin writing. Taut, plainspoken, and deeply pained, her debut, Failer, is surprisingly accessible, sung in a raw, vulnerable warble; played with precision by a crack Ottawa band; and punctuated by horns, slide guitar, and pedal steel. (Zoë/Rounder, www.rounder.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Natalia.

On Natalia, nylon-string guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima continues the concept begun on his last CD, Mambo No. 5, arranging South American and Caribbean music for solo guitar and a small ensemble driven by percussion and bass. Many of the tunes on Natalia, notably the title cut (aka "Venezuelan Waltz #1"), feature the superb cuatro playing of Gustavo Colina. But Barbosa-Lima's precise, powerful, and tonally vibrant guitar work is at the heart of these excellent arrangements of music by his teacher Isaias Savio, Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández, Colombia's Jaime Romero, and others. Highlights include the cuatro/guitar duet on the title cut, Barbosa-Lima's version of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Chega de Saudade," and a beautiful solo guitar rendering of Leo Brouwer's "Preludio." (Khaeon, www.khaeonworldmusic.com)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

Olaf Tarenskeen Acoustic Trio, Missing Link.

Backed on Missing Link by bass, drums, and on some cuts, string quartet, Olaf Tarenskeen displays his considerable fingerstyle talents on a wide variety of material, including an inspired version of the jazz standard "The Nearness of You," Sting's "Fragile," and an exquisite traditional Chinese piece that he has arranged for string quartet and guitar. This Dutch guitarist's well-crafted original tunes are excellent vehicles for his thoughtful, supple improvisation. His phrasing is remarkably lyrical and the tonal colors he draws from his nylon-string guitar would turn the heads of a lot of classical guitarists. Missing Link should help bring this extraordinary guitarist the broad audience he deserves. (Complete Guitar Studio, www.olaftarenskeen.vinden.nl)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, August 2003, No. 128.

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