Various Artists - Wooden Guitar
(Locust)
A compilation has the potential to become legendary. When presenting a set of related artists, a compilation has the power to inspire and create legions of followers, birthing entire scenes. Although most are forgotten, some, like Nuggets and C-86, become the definitive documents of a movement. Others, like No New York and Hoisting the Black Flag, become the breeding grounds for many followers.
Locust Music's Wooden Guitar doesn't feature many different artists—four performers over five tracks in seventy minutes—but shows plenty of diversity within the limits of the instrumentation. This idea is to showcase extended compositions by modern acoustic guitar innovators, without overdubs or additional accompaniment. These four artists—Jack Rose, Steffen Basho-Junghans, Tetuzi Akiyama and Richard Bishop—are perhaps the leading acoustic guitarists of this day and age. And in sticking to the purity of the acoustic instrument—refusing to use electronics, effects or overdubs—Wooden Guitar presents these artists' visions in a way that may become, well, legendary.
Jack Rose opens the disc with a continuation of the "Red Horse" theme from his first solo album. It's a stunning way to begin the disc, as it surrounds the listener with a maelstrom of tones—flurries of notes that form a staggering melodic progression. The front of the package uses the term "deltadelica," and while I initially winced at the word, it's really an appropriate term to describe this style. I haven't heard Rose's newest disc, but I'll say that "Red Horse II" is the pinnacle of his career to date (including his work with Pelt). It manages to be focused and scattered at the same time, surging with what is almost violence as the echoing clang of the strings carries the melody.
Steffen Basho-Junghans is split onto two tracks, the lengthy "A North Thuringian Raga" and the shorter "Smiling Penguins". Basho-Junghans is notable for getting some of the most amazing, inhuman sounds I have ever heard out of an acoustic guitar on his previous records. However, "North Thuringian Raga" is surprisingly closer to the Jack Rose track than anything on Basho-Junghans' earlier works (that I have heard). Sticking with a fairly conventional approach (for him), Basho-Junghans plays in a quick strumming manner, interspersed with fingerpicking, reminding me a bit of Sir Richard Bishop's epic "Rasheed." It's a piece that really shows Basho-Junghans' range, while "Smiling Penguins" is there to provide a brief outlet for his more experimental side. Not that "Smiling Penguins" doesn't have a human element—there's a comfortable ambience in the way his guitar resonates, and his short, staccato notes shimmer like warm rain.
It's Tetuzi Akiyama who stands out as the coldest track on this disc, and it's placed right in the middle. Space is the motif of this 20 minute track, as you can hear his guitar's body vibrating throughout each weird tone cluster. Recalling the sparse, scattered gestures of Jandek, "Time Between" might be named after the time between each note, for each pluck hangs in suspended animation. It breaks up the flow of Wooden Guitar somewhat, and while Akiyama's work is every bit as fascinating as the other members of this compilation, this lull is the only criticism I have for this disc.
Closing the disc is Sir Richard Bishop, whose Salvador Kali record is one of this reviewer's favorite records of probably the entire 1990's. Initially disappointing to me, "Corpuscle" merely takes a very long time to get going. Once it does it's as dazzling as any of his earlier work, solo or not. Bishop uses what is perhaps the most conventional technique, opting for the frenetic strum instead of complex fingerpicking. The Middle Eastern influence adds to the mystery of this piece; it's dark and exotic, like the finest moments of Bishop's Sun City Girls. The strings are strummed very bluntly, which creates a tense mood to the piece. It's only about halfway through that he begins to develop some momentum. Like the aforementioned "Rasheed," Bishop lets inertia drive this piece, getting a quick, somewhat aggressive theme going before stopping suddenly. And just when you get your bearings, he lurches forward again. After fifteen minutes, I'm caught up in the dizziness, lost in the harmonic movement and wishing it would never end.
Locust is planning to release separate records by all artists on this compilation, to which I salute them. Wooden Guitar is one of the finest examples of the avant-garde embracing folk elements. Relentlessly pursuing new approaches to this most conservative of instruments, these artists don't lose sight of tradition. Instead of pure aural exploration, we are given five compositions that exhibit a good degree of soul. Each track, with maybe the exception of the Akiyama, makes me want to throw up my hands in excitement, as I can feel the simple power of the acoustic guitar washing over my body. And if this compilation inspires even just some of it's listeners to reconsider their approach to the acoustic guitar, then perhaps a legend will be made.
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