a yawnfest after the first initial listen. There are better compilations out there and this is simply

This idea might surprise you: We are in a new Golden Age of Acoustic Guitar. Never have there been so many true virtuoso players, working in so many different styles, expanding the possibilities of the instrument with their seemingly boundless imaginations. And as listeners and fans, we have never had access to this much music, old and new. Virtually the entire history of recording is literally at our fingertips through our phones and computers. Want to compare Joni Mitchell’s early records with her later work? Want to hear 1920s recordings of Blind Blake, or the quirky folk of England’s Incredible String Band from the late ’60s? Where should you start if you want to understand all this fuss about Tommy Emmanuel? What’s the story with Michael Hedges? Just start streaming; maybe you’ll find that magical album. At the very least, the search will be interesting and enlightening. While the instrumental acoustic guitar is most commonly associated with the American primitive tradition derived from blues and folk, characterized by guitarists like John Fahey and Leo Kottke, musicians such as Wendy Eisenberg show the instrument’s capabilities when given an avant-garde touch. Eisenberg is known for their work on both acoustic and electric instruments, but their 2018 VDSQ release, Its Shape Is Your Touch is their finest example of avant-garde acoustic guitar. Breaking apart and reinventing classical guitar tradition, Eisenberg can be heard drawing upon fragments from essential classical guitar etudes (“Bay Road”) and reshapes them as something entirely new, as if Eisenberg is forging a new path while the shadows of the past linger. There’s a hint of a smile on Open All Night (a song about a car and a girl – ‘Wanda, behind the counter at the Route 60 Bob’s Big Boy’). But it’s offset by the manic State Trooper; a song Springsteen later said was partly an homage to NY art punks Suicide’s Frankie Teardrop. It was done in just one take. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X7V0yAofeU Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin & Paco de Lucía – The Guitar Trio (1996) – full album (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X7V0yAofeU)The intensity and passion of the music throughout is impressive; it’s as if they knew this would be one of their final gigs with Staley, and were determined to capture the depth and clarity of the connection between all those involved. A master technician with an extraordinary touch, whose guitar style was also conversant with country and ragtime jazz, Johnson had a haunting delivery that Clapton once called “the most powerful cry that I think you can find in the human voice”. I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom, Sweet Home Chicago, Terraplane Blues, Love In Vain, Hellhound On My Trail and Traveling Riverside Blues are just a few of the essentials included on The Complete Recordings.

At times the closeness of Springsteen’s voice and the empty space around it makes Nebraska almost uncomfortably intimate. That was intentional. Springsteen wanted to make a record “that sounded good with the lights out”. He wanted his listeners to think they were eavesdropping on his characters’ most private thoughts and emotions –“to get inside their heads”.Wary of the Unplugged format, Nirvana agreed to record this on the condition that their performance skipped the hits to explore their catalogue’s dark corners and rifle through Kurt Cobain’s record collection. Even then, Dave Grohl recalls, two days of rehearsals were “horrible”, the band struggling with acoustic instruments, the singer suffering from heroin withdrawal, the drummer hitting too hard. “That show was supposed to be a disaster,” Grohl concludes. Even decades and umpteen plays on, the latter – and The Sound Of Silence and Kathy’s Song– can reach you in your present moment with its innocence and sweet simplicity. The lesser-known songs have aged well too, especially April Come She Will, Blessed and the poetic Leaves That Are Green.

has a lullaby quality and is likely to lull anyone to sleep, without Martin Barre's jarring riffs ready far. I knew beforehand that I was going to have a hard time to rate such an album. I guess that none of these songs would fit on I’ve never heard it so quiet in here,” Townes Van Zandt remarks as he makes his way through the monumental live set captured on Live At The Old Quarter. It’s a testament to both his craft as a composer and the emotional weight of his songs that he was able to keep a full house spellbound using only his voice and an acoustic guitar. Of course there are some nice songs featured on this record : the sequence from "Mother Goose" through "Skating Away" is rather

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When most people think of Green Day, they think of this song. “Good Riddance,” with its nostalgia-laden lyrics and a soft, pleasing tune, has firmly placed itself as the ultimate farewell song at parties and proms. It is also a staple song used by Green Day to end all of its live performances.