Customer Reviews

33 Acoustic Guitar Instrumentals

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been playing acoustic guitar (mostly bluegrass now) for about 10 years. This is important to consider with regards to my rating. From my perspective, this album is an exquisite gem. Clarence White's guitar work "speaks" to me, I can't say more than that. It just sounds right. This CD is packed with guitar wizardry, but the kind that doesn't sound flashy at the expense of feeling. I just keep learning from it. You can hear Clarence's quick crosspicking, his unique syncopation, and the general "fullness" of his playing. It is interesting to hear these recordings juxtaposed with his playing in the Kentucky Colonels. I love the music of the Kentucky Colonels, but I can't help listening past the other great musicians in their recorded performances to hear what Clarence is doing with his rhythm. In this CD, I am absolved of that guilt.
Now for a wider perspective. This CD was not recorded with intent to release publicly. The songs are generally short and unpolished. For many like me this is part of the appeal, its like sitting in Clarence's living room while he runs through his repertoire. For others, this may reduce the overall enjoyment. This is the type of CD I sit down and "listen" to. I do not put it on in the background with company over. It is a little too discontinuous (due to the many short songs) and intense for that. This is neither a strength or weakness, just a property of the album. It just depends on what you are looking to have in your CD collection.
Bottom Line: If you are a Clarence White fan, or a fan of flatpicking guitar, you will greatly appreciate this album. An easy 5 stars from me.

I am not going to mince words, every guitar player should have this record. Forget all the new generation pickers from Nickel Creek to Alison Krause, Clarence White is still new dogs, new tricks.

I got this cd to archived myself to the world of instrumental guitar and was blown away with this great and late guitarist. This cd has a great collection of bluegrass hits that he flatpicks and will also leave you mesmerize with his quick and very clean flatpicking style. If you want to get a great guitar instrumental cd look no further than this one. This a must for any guitarist or lover of that fine instrument.

I think that this recording is mainly of interest to SERIOUS fans of flatpicked guitar and Clarence White, but might not be satisfying to more general fans of acoustic music. The playing is good, in fact many tunes are really good. However, and I think that this is a BIG however for all but ardent fans of CW, the recording process was pretty basic, and the sonic quality is marginal.

Moreover, CW seems to be unaccompanied, and they are short tunes. It is just CW, the guitar, and a tape deck--a pretty basic recording. This is somewhat akin to an ancient Library of Congress field recording of indigenous musicians. Charming in its own way, and of some historic interest as well, this recording might have limited appeal to a general audience.

A much better record, which covers similar material but features a fabulous Clarence White, and a band, and good sound quality, is "Appalachian Swing!" by the Kentucky Colonels.

By the time I finally heard this I had already given proper listening to many of the other heavyweights such as Tony Rice and Norman Blake. I have to say I am charmed by this album and I only wish I could see Clarence playing these 33 songs. What really strikes me about this is Clarence's groovy sense of rhythm and warm melodic phrasing. He does justice to the guitar itself as he treks into territory he must have knew was untouched. The patterns he plays are relentless and his style shows he used the guitar to channel his own energy in a method that could not have been taught. Like Rice, his technique is seemingly defiant as if he forced himself to churn out note after note until it became as smooth as butter. This recording truly shows a man in a zone.

You might think that listening to 33 guitar instrumentals straight through might be too much, but that is not the case here. Most of the tracks are short (the entire album lasts barely forty minutes). Nevertheless, the level of invention is remarkable. Roger Bush accompanies on every track but often you find yourself wondering if White really needed the help. Whatever the case, White's playing is accurate and beautifully phrased no matter what the tempo.

These selections were recorded on home equipment in the early Sixties and the sound, while nothing to write home about, is more than acceptable.

Clarence White was just down right AWESOME. It's amazing to here some of the songs that Tony Rice has recorded and hear the likeness and the influence Clarence had on Tony. What a great learning tool this cd would be for someone wanting to learn flatpicking. I couldn't imagine the stuff he would have come up with as he would have matured. May he rest in peace and his music live on.

You must have this CD. Taken from Clarence's personal tape player where he just played at home. Some of the most famous Clarence songs, with his landmark guitar wizardry.

I'm in pretty much complete agreement with what ElvisNoir said in his review. That is, this album is best for hard core flatpicking fans. To most folks these types of arrangements may shine best in the Kentucky Colonels album "Appalacian Swing" where additional instruments are present ( I have both). For those hardcore flatpicking fans I'm thinking this might be a full 5 stars, but for other bluegrass fans perhaps 3 stars.....

Clarence White was not only an innovator but also a master. The only bad feature of this CD is that it makes me want to drop whatever I'm doing and pick up my guitar and try and figure out each of CW's renditions of all of these great classic tunes. Sometimes it's tough to hear whether there is another guitar in the background playing rhythm or not. This CD is a must for the collection of any student or devotee of flatpicking acoustic guitar music.