Customer Reviews

Crusin Deuces

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've never encountered anyone who could touch this guy. He is just insane as a guitar player. this is a fantastic album that shows Danny is a complete master of any style he chose to play. What a shame to have so much God given talent and then take your own life. I'm sure he worked very hard to get chops like this but alot of his talent had to be a gift from above. If you really want to get an idea of just how good this guy was just check out his hot licks videos, available right here on amazon. You have to see it to believe it. Don't listen to these others who have given these bad reviews for the most lame reasons. One guy is whining about amazon and gives the cd a bad review. Danny is the star here, just listen to Him. You won't be sorry, I PROMISE.

This was my first Danny Gatton Album. I bought it after reading how he was the world's most underrated guitar player. I did not know what to expect when I put it on for the first time. Needless to say I was absolutely blown away with "Funhouse", the first track. I knew what I had to do....buy everything he ever recorded! I suggest the same for anyone who can appreciate the master of all styles of guitar! No one can ever touch his virtuosity.

I am new to Gatton's music, but like the other reviewers, I was blown away by his guitar playing on this. "Funhouse" should have been platinum instead of "Smooth". Danny makes Santana look like a beginner. His blend of Rock, Blues, Country was unique. He had great taste, chops. He had everything. "Harlem Nocturne" is searing, haunting. The other numbers include beautiful ballads, rockish numbers, and miscellanous pieces, all of them great because of Gatton. Buy this and enjoy !

This is an album likely to appeal to a broader spectrum of musical tastes than almost any I've come across.

From the opening medley through an eclectic/electrifying version of "Harlem Nocturn" which sounds throughout as if it is likely to get completely out of control though is held together with masterful invention and unexpected twists of harmonic invention, to the haunting Willy Nelson cover "Misery".

If you like Rock, Jazz, Country, Rockabilly or just appreciate consumate musicianship you'll appreciate this gem from the "world's greatest unknown guitarist"

I've seen Danny Gatton play many times before his death. He without a doubt was the best guitar player in the business. I knew Danny as a musician and friend. His music will live on forever. He is greatly missed! His music posesses every musical style known. I love the way he plays the blues and his Rock-A-Billy has made many guitar players put down the guitar. Don't take it from me....all you have to do is listen to " Harlem Nocturne ".. You'll be hooked..!

Danny was so good it's ridicolous, he will always be in my all time favourite musicians Hall of Fame. No question. He is in very good company, with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, all the boppers, Wes Montgomery, Edward Van Halen, Hank Garland, Sarah Vaughan, Michael Hedges, I don't know, Shawn Lane, John McLaughlin, Leo Kottke, Brian Setzer, Phineas Newborn, Bill Evans, Buddy DeFranco, Lee Morgan, Frank Rosolino, Dave Pell, Shorty Rogers, all the California boppers... gosh, many more. But Danny was something special. A killer, I own everything he recorded. Everything. This album is peculiar. It is true that probably was an attemp for him to be more "commercial", to reach a wider audience, and that the resuls are ,... fantastic at some point, ... a little weak in other points. Nevertheless I still rate 5 stars this album, just for 4 or 5 tunes that are phenomenal. With Cruisin' Deuces he tried to be more successful, but he failed. Not because the music contained here wasn't good. Simply the music Danny played in his career has never been that "commercial". That fantastic blend of styles which was HIS style, something that incorporated Jazz, blues, soul, bop, rockabilly, western swing, rock'n'roll, country, chicken picking, bluegrass and everything in between could not appeal to a large audience which, by definition, is not aware and interested enough in good music. You must be a well rounded listener (and even a player in a certain sense) of good american music, all of it, to understand and appreciate Danny at the fullest. To me here, the music really speaks for itself, and I simply want to list the tunes here that are phenomenal, a lot above the mere mortal stuff. "So good" (UN-BE-LIE-VA-BLE), "Tragedy" (SU-BLI-ME), "Harlem Nocturne", ... "Funhouse", "Sun Medley" (TER-RI-FIC), ... "Sky King", "Thirteen woman" ... and of course all the solos, every tune's guitar parts. Danny blow all of us away with just a rhythmn part! Some guys critic the vocals here. I don't know, they're not totally out of place. Maybe the choice on the singer could be more accurate, .. but that's it. That simple thing can't detract nothing of the pleasure to listen again to a PHE-NO-ME-NAL player such as Danny. All in all this is a very entertaining album ,... with some flaws in the production area probably. At the end of the day probably some albums of his are more true to Danny, and if you are a casual listener that wants to own just a couple of things by Danny I would suggest other albums ("Relentless" and "Redneck Jazz Explosion" maybe) but you can't never touch Danny. He is UNTOUCHABLE for me.

Daniel W. Gatton was a phenomenal musician who is difficult to categorize or assign to any one genre of music. It is in this his final album, "Cruisin' Deuces" that he lives to his namesake "The Humbler" as the album takes you through a rip-roaring array of guitar styles and musical genres from Rockabilly, Jazz, Blues, to good old Rock. Yet for all of his unbridled raw talent, the world at large hardly knew his music before his untimely death in 1994. As a follow up album to "88 Elmira St," this album does well and stands alone. From the first track of 'Funhouse' to the last track 'Satisfied Mind,' Mr. Gatton blazes through covers and originals alike showcasing one of the greatest backing bands ever assembled in recent memory. "Sun Medley," a standard song for Mr. Gatton and his band for many years, finally found its way on to a recorded album, and this gifted guitar chameleon accompanied by Del McClinton's vocals did not dissappoint. One thing to mention: this album features a few songs with vocals (not something Mr. Gatton was known for in the past). His cover of Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" sung by Rodney Crowell was tasteful to say the least; however if you can find "88 Elmira St," his 1991 major label debut, you'll see why in my opinion, it is still the greatest representation of his style and tone. The vocals on many of the cover songs on "Cruisin' Deuces are done very well, but for me, when I listen to Danny Gatton, I don't need vocals to puncutate his already incredible abiltiy to make these songs his own. The world may never truly know all that Danny Gatton was capable of. For many of us who followed his music long before he 'hit it big,' his passing left an enormous void in the world of music that has yet to be filled.

i guess that like so many talented artists they get their recognition after they have left this life,danny gatton has been a revelation to me his styles and techniques cross over with no boundaries, it may not be for everyone out there but he is or was one of the greats i just wish i had heard of him before. dave

Excellent, excellent album - if you are new to Danny's music, this is the cd to check out. Not only do you get a feeling for his virtuosic performance on most of the popular genres of music (rockabilly, jazz and country), but the other performers and performances are right there with him. Danny Gatton's musical gift was his ability to mix and match many musical styles (kind of like a musical Chinese menu) and make it look effortless. The musical community surely misses his great and unequaled to this day talent.

[Reviewer note: This review was updated on 02/07/2005.]

I spent a fair amount of time searching for a Danny Gatton CD and, to be honest, it was a little difficult deciding on something. I sampled tracks from all of his available CDs but none really jumped out as being a sure thing.

Eventually though, based on the samples, I settled on this one. Despite the fact that I didn't have extremely high expectations to begin with, I was still disappointed. There just isn't very much to like about this CD. (I don't want to give the impression that I think the CD is horrible, though. But it felt stale and over-produced to me.)

Now that I've gotten some more Danny Gatton CDs and have a bit more experience to share, I'll say to those who are new to Danny Gatton that this is not the CD to start with. (Later, you can come back and add this if you'd like to complete your collection). I would instead recommend one, or all, of the following for a first Danny Gatton CD: 88 Elmira Street, Unfinished Business, or Portraits.