Customer Reviews

Country Soul Guitar

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

 

 

This is simply amazing stuff. Other revieweers have mentioned his Country Side, and wheras there is a fair slice in this recording (and his others) I hear lots of other influences; Blues, Rock and a bit of Jazz.
At the end of the day this guy is hard to classify. A close comparison is Johnny A.

But back to Duke; this is his 4th (yes 4th!!, more on that later) solo outing, but sadly has not recorded anthing solo as of late. Each of his recordings are worthwhile; simply fantastic guitar playing.

The tracks on this Recording are great; the haunting sound of Mr John; the Blues/Rock of Low Lonesome; the soul (sic) of Soul Miner, and a remake of Deep Blue from the phantom 4th album; Guitar Talk.

Guitar Talk was his first recording and is simply unheard of; when I loaded this particular CD into my PC; cd db had no record of it; Amazon doesn't sell it, and has never sold it; and it appears to be simply unavailable, but strangely not even acknowledged. Curious. And wouldn't you know it; it is a great album too.

Enjoy.

Duke Levine struts some hot licks and incredible tones on Country Soul Guitar. The title of the cd says it all, soulful country with outstanding musicianship.This isn,t your typical truck stop country either,it's engaging instrumentals that will make guitar officianados drool.

I've had this cd for years. I can't remember how I even found out about it, but I can tell you I am a huge fan of all things country telecaster playing. I am writting this review of a thirteen year old album because it is such a great play. I just listened to it four times in two days because it's that good. It is country, it is soul. Production is clean and not overdone, Duke's guitar tone is beautiful (clean and dirty) and his phrasing and writting is very strong. I like every cut. I have about as deep a collection of Nashville tele style cd's as you can get, both classic and current artists. This is just a superb effort, and one deserving of being played at 11 at home or on the road.

I used to catch a young 19 year old Duke Levine and his band Crockett in the late 1970's every chance I got. Based out of Worcester Massachusetts, he was a hotshot young guitarist whose playing frequently left us with our mouths open in amazement. He could play for hours and never repeat a lick. Playing originals and covers, this was a band to be reckoned with when Duke caught fire, playing behind his head and using mike stands and budweiser long necks for slides, he'd command the attention of a crowded bar. You'd stop whatever you were doing to check him out. He later based out of Boston, playing Jazz and Country and occasionaly sitting in with the Del Fuegos. I believe he won the Best Unknown Guitarist in Boston contest during this time. He since has gone on to play in Mary Chapin Carpenter's touring band and score some John Sayles movies. If you get a chance to see him, he's worth the price of admission. This album is a solid collection of countryish rock in which he shows some glimpses of his incredible playing. Somewhat limited by the studio environment, he nonetheless struts his chops on highlights like Nashville Skyline Rag. He's an amazing player when he gets the opportunity to play live and stretch out. Definitely worth picking up, he's a brand name talent toiling in the shadows of the business. Maybe we can get a live album out of him showcasing his rock and blues roots.

I found this guy from a NPR compilation cd - so then I ordered the whole thing and it is really very nice. He has a lot of talent, and it's unfortunate that he has such an ugly CD cover - yes packaging sells - I ordered his other 2 releases and hope it's as good.

I also heard a song from this CD on Pandora and wanted to purchase it. However, I will not pay almost $30 for any CD much less a used one. Why is there no other option to purchase this. And why is it not offered as mp3 downloads. Very frustrating.

Not many people have this CD... when I met Duke at a gig in Northampton MA around 2001 (he was in town, so he sat in with Jonatha Brooke and played all her guitar parts, sometimes just as she called out the songs); I told him I owned a copy of this CD and he joked "so you are the one person who bought it". Listen to Bud's Bounce and try to not to smile as he plays dozens of great different licks all in one song. Priceless stuff...

I heard Low Lonesome on Pandora, and checked out all the samples. What a great album! It is on my wish list, but at $25 for a used copy it is a little out of my price range. Hey Duke, if you're out there, get them to press some more copies, eh? THANKS!

Like Danny Gatton (who this sounds a lot like) the material doesn't seem to catch up to the player's potential. It's still a nice album, but somehow you know Mr. Levine has some better material somewhere.