Hit List

John Williams, El Diablo Suelto.

On this CD, Williams applies his magic touch to 26 guitar pieces by various Venezuelan composers including Vicente Emilio Sojo, Alfonso Montes, and Antonio Lauro. He uses his legendary articulation and broad tonal palette to bring out the rich and intricate rhythmic and melodic content of material that is a unique hybrid of African, European, and indigenous influences. His navigation of polyrhythms at brisk tempos on pieces like "Seis por Derecho" and "Las Perdices" is nothing short of dazzling. Throughout the set, Williams' passion for this music, taken largely from the repertoire of his friend, the great Venezuelan guitarist and musicologist Alirio Diaz, is always in evidence. The cuatro playing of Alfonso Montes on four duets with Williams is an added treat. (Sony, www.sonyclassical.com)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

Kerry Getz, Little Victory.

While her previous release, 2001's Live at the Galaxy, showcased this southern California favorite's singing and songwriting in the barest guitar-and-vocal setting, Kerry Getz fares well all dressed up in Martin Beal's tasteful Aimee Mann—influenced folk-pop production. Her fine acoustic picking is occasionally buried in the washes of keyboards and programming, but Getz' rich, dreamy voice rises up from the emotional depths of the soul-searching and star-gazing lyrics, floating through the chiming, atmospheric arrangements with an allure that fans of Shawn Colvin and Dar Williams should find irresistible. Getz' cover versions ("Walk Away Renee" on Live, Jackson Browne's "Sleep's Dark and Silent Gate" here) indicate the kind of boomer influences she's woven into an original vision and sumptuous sound. (World in Motion, www.worldinmotionrecords.com)

—Derk Richardson

Various artists, Clawhammer Guitar: The Collection.

Clawhammer is an old-time banjo picking style, but over the last 25 years a few adventuresome guitarists have adapted the thumb-based technique to the six-string box. This collection features 13 clawhammer solos by Steve Baughman, Jody Stecher, Michael Stadler, and Alec Stone Sweet and is billed as the first full album devoted to the style. Because of the guitar's greater resonance, playing it clawhammer fashion often results in an airier sound than that of the open-backed banjo. Thus Stone Sweet's "Shady Grove" feels more explorative and less solemn than the typical old-time rendition of this standard. Stadler's original "Dogs in the Creekbed/Gator in the Lap Lane" is a haunting, rhythmic tour de force. There's no telling where clawhammer guitar technique will go from here, but these musicians have set the bar high. (Solid Air, www.solidairrecords.com)

—Ian Zack

Caroline Herring, Wellspring.

Combine Joan Baez' stately vocal eloquence with Lucinda Williams' distinctly Southern literary bent and Gillian Welch's timeless Appalachian echoes and you've got singer-songwriter Caroline Herring's captivating second album. The 34-year-old Mississippi native, who emerged from the thriving Austin music scene a few years back and has since relocated to Atlanta, joins unadorned, memorable melodies to evocative, detail-rich character studies of emotional life below the Mason-Dixon Line. Ranging across the roots spectrum from subtle folk-rock ("Trace," "Mortified," "Colorado Woman") to bluegrass-tinged country ("Jewels," "The Way That You Are") and sassy Southwestern swing ("Texas Two Step"), the entire 11-song collection is at once familiar and fresh. (Blue Corn, www.bluecornmusic.com)

—Mike Thomas

Mark Nelson, The Water Is Wide.

Mark Nelson seems to be on to something new and sweet with his marriage of Appalachian dulcimer and Hawaiian slack-key guitar. Balancing island romanticism with a sly glint of humor, Nelson folds original melodies into such diverse tracks as "Mood Indigo" and old Californian and Samoan tunes. As played here, "Mood Indigo" is so perfect a slack-key number that it's hard to believe it wasn't designed that way. And on the solo guitar tracks "Auntie's Christmas Goose" and the taro-patch slide "'Opihi Blues" you can almost hear Nelson grinning. The crown jewel is Nelson's own "Drizzle," which he recorded nearly 20 years ago as a dulcimer piece, but which is reborn as one of the most achingly lovely slack-key numbers heard in years. (Acme Arts, www.mark-o.com)

—Danny Carnahan

Doug Cox and Todd Butler, Dobro and Guitar.

Dobro master Doug Cox and guitarist extraordinaire Todd Butler demonstrate how perfectly their styles meld on their first all-instrumental collaboration. Cox's warm expressiveness and Butler's lickety-split riffs and flashy flamenco runs are showcased on a set of all original compositions that include jazzy improvisations ("East of Dopyera," "More Musta"), haunting melodies ("Onaway," "Prayer for Air"), and uptempo romps ("Redneck Flower"). Unexpected shifts of tempo and a wide array of sounds—from woozy to splintery to the zipper-like rips on "Thumbs of China"—ratchet up the excitement and convey the spontaneity of a jam session. (Pacific, www.dougcoxandtoddbutler.com)

—Céline Keating

Thad Cockrell, Warmth and Beauty.

The son of a Baptist preacher, Cockrell grew up surrounded by hymns and old-school country music. They've given his melodies a sweet simplicity and his voice a high, lonesome urgency. On his second album, coproduced by Chris Stamey, he's crafted the perfect acoustic settings for 12 original heartbreakers. There's soft-spoken countrypolitan ("Warmth and Beauty"), airy California country-rock ("Taking the View"), and an old-fashioned waltz ("My Favorite Memory"). The retro-mod balance of softly strummed acoustic guitar, "Nashville Sound" electric piano, and classically aching pedal steel make for an album that's contemporary, pretty, and honest. (Yep Roc, www.yeproc.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Andy Leftwich, Ride.

Mandolin, fiddle, and guitar virtuoso Andy Leftwich holds down the second fiddle chair with one of the hottest traditional units in bluegrass, Ricky Skaggs' Kentucky Thunder. But on his debut solo effort, a high-flying set of mostly original tunes, Leftwich soars to the progressive end of the acoustic music spectrum populated by such players as Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, and Darol Anger. He displays a clear-eyed compositional skill on tunes like "Shining Waters" and "Faultline," while on "Shark Tooth" he uses his Monroe-inflected mandolin skills as a melodic foil to the jazzy progression. His Celtic influences are displayed in the deft flatpicking guitar work on "Queen Anne's Lace." Joined by Missy Raines on bass, Rob Ickes on Dobro, Richard Bailey on banjo, and Cody Kilby on guitar, young Leftwich shows how bluegrass is evolving in the 21st century. (Skaggs Family, www.skaggsfamilyrecords.com)

—David McCarty

Various artists, Down in the Basement: Joe Bussard's Treasure Trove of Vintage 78s 1926—1937.

Joe Bussard has long been loaning out his old records for projects like the Charley Patton Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues box set and Yazoo Records' seven-disc Kentucky Mountain Music, but Down in the Basement marks the first time he has put together a collection of his personal favorites. The 24-track selection is eclectic but the music is uniformly excellent, including songs from well-known artists like Big Bill Broonzy, Gene Autry, and Uncle Dave Macon as well as ultra-obscure performers like the Down Home Boys, an eccentric blues trio whose music survives on only one known disc. A 74-page booklet is packed full of stories about Bussard's record-hunting adventures. Hopefully this is just the first of many visits to his basement. (Old Hat, www.oldhatrecords.com)

—Michael John Simmons

Chip Taylor and Carrie Rodriguez, The Trouble with Humans.

Even if he never sang another note, Chip Taylor would merit inclusion in pop's gallery of talented eccentrics as the composer of "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning." But rather than stand pat, the wily veteran has ventured into rootsy terrain with duet partner Carrie Rodriguez, a Texas-bred, Berklee-trained fiddler and vocalist. In the soulful, slightly ragged spirit of its predecessor, 2002's acclaimed Let's Leave This Town, their new collection of intimate, acoustic guitar—anchored alt-country gems brims with hard-earned wisdom from the front lines of romance. From the playful square dance sass of "All the Rain" and the steady Texas chug of "Don't Speak in English" to the gorgeous Gram-and-Emmylou ache of the title track, Taylor's weathered pipes and Rodriguez' tangy twang blend together like tequila and lime. (Lone Star, www.txmusicgroup.com)

—Mike Thomas

Various artists, Livin', Lovin', Losin': Songs of the Louvin Brothers.

Heartbreakingly brilliant from start to finish, Livin', Lovin', Losin' includes duets by Johnny Cash and Pam Tillis, Rodney Crowell and Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill and Terri Clark, James Taylor and Alison Krauss. The CD's star power is phenomenal and the performances are beautifully true to the spirit of Charlie and Ira Louvin, who recorded from 1955 to 1963 and wrote such staples as "Cash on the Barrelhead," "I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby," and "The Angels Rejoiced." Produced by Carl Jackson, Livin', Lovin', Losin' is an inspired tribute to the Louvins' music, driven by raw emotion and occupying the perfect middle ground between gospel and honky-tonk. (Universal, www.umusic.com)

—Kenny Berkowitz

Stefan Lindenbauer, It's Probably Me.

One of a new breed of classically trained guitarists who choose their material from a multitude of genres, this young Austrian guitarist performs original arrangements of such diverse tunes as the title track (written by Sting), two rave-ups by country guitarist Buster B. Jones ("Skippy" and "Buster 'B' Boogie"), Agustín Barrios' "La Catedral," the traditional "The Water Is Wide," and "Libra Sonatine," a suite composed by Roland Dyens, one of Lindenbauer's teachers. Whether it's high-octane country pickin' or neoclassical contemporary music, Lindenbauer plays with exceptional technique and sensitivity to the spirit of each piece. (Acoustic Music, www.acoustic-music.de)

—Ron Forbes-Roberts

Excerpted from Acoustic Guitar magazine, February 2004, No. 134.

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