Beautiful Isle of Somewhere [Live]

Geoff Muldaur | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Tradition & Moderne
• ASIN: B00008MJ8V
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,171 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Muldaur's solo versions of songs you may already know., February 29, 2004

By 

Scott White (Ontario, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beautiful Isle of Somewhere (Audio CD)

This is a live recording of a concert in Germany a few years ago. It's a solo performance, and Muldaur has taken the deceptively simple sound of his recent work and pared it down to even more deceptively simple arrangements for solo guitar and vocal. I find his work compelling. This is a clean recording, with little crowd noise (except a little polite applause). The song selection is similar to the sets he's played in solo shows in the Los Angeles area in the past couple of years (there's a concert schedule on his web site).

About 2/3 of the songs here are on his two recent albums, Password and Secret Handshake. These live versions have similar feel to those two albums, and listeners who already have them may not feel the need to buy this one. Almost all the songs not on those albums are all on other G.M. compilations, though not always widely available. My advice is to buy this album for the sound of the solo arrangements.

Almost everything here is just beautiful (though I prefer Eric Clapton's version of Motherless Child). To me, "Gee baby, ain't I been good to you" and "Tennessee blues" are the most special cuts, because of their careful treatment here and because I hadn't heard them on his earlier discs.

The first is an old jazz tune (credited to Donald Matthew Redman & Andy Razaf). The lyrics express only love (mostly shown through expensive gifts), but the slow pace and strained tone are more telling than the words. The song's hook is in the thoughts left unsaid. Tennessee blues (Bobby Charles) is a warm feeling soft folk-sounding song about longing for someplace new. Like the rest of the album, the beauty of both these songs is in the careful and sensitive guitar and vocal performance. Absolutely beautiful.

Some other exceptional tracks are "The common cold" (called "Kitchen Door" on Password), "Wild ox moan" and "Just a little while to stay here" from Secret Handshake, all much like their arrangements on the studio albums. "I can't see your face" has an even more haunting sound played on guitar here than on piano (Secret Handshake).

Muldaur's writes a few originals (Got to Find Blind Lemon) but his real strength is to take an old song (blues, jazz, gospel, whatever) and carefully take it apart to find the emotional core, and then to put it back together, keeping its heart fully intact, but with new instrumentation and his own inimitable vocal. He is at his very best when he arranges and performs songs of subtle but deep lyric or musical soul. When he's done, the finished piece is like hand crafted furniture, worn smooth by years of use but sturdy as if it were brand new.

Muldaur might have summed up his recent work by covering "Drop down, mama" (Sleepy John Estes):
"Well I might look like I'm crazy, but I do know right from wrong."
It sounds right to me.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars top notch acoustic blues, July 2, 2003

By 

wnmnf "yrwnmnf" (Albany, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beautiful Isle of Somewhere (Audio CD)

This is a wonderful cd. I saw Geoff Muldaur and Fritz Richmond, (a terrific washtub bass player) a year ago December and this cd is just like having that concert right in my living room (minus the bass). Geoff's bluesy guitar playing is so sweet and he's got an amazing singing voice, full of soul while still being very melodic. Really, this guy is a master at what he does. If you love acoustic blues, enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great guitar player, December 23, 2010

By 

Jeffrey P. Bledsoe "Hokie Ramp" (Weatherford, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beautiful Isle of Somewhere (Audio CD)

My wife and I attended a Geoff Muldaur concert in Fort Worth TX on 11/3/2006. I know because when I bought this CD during an intermission, Geoff signed and dated the cover.

During that show, Geoff mentioned that he plays a Martin guitar diplaying his signature. I checked it out...his guitar is listed on the Martin website. Not a cheap guitar!

Some of his guitar playing reminds me of Gamble Rogers' and Chet Atkins' techniques. Geoff is amazing on that little Martin.

I have say, since I bought this CD, I like Blues more and more.