Intuite

Pierre Bensusan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 25, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Favored Nations
• ASIN: B00005O4V3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,570 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Ignore the surreal New Age cover painting with Pierre's leafy features peering quizzically from a tree--Intuite is a delightful album. It's also Bensusan's first entirely unaccompanied and totally acoustic recording in a professional career that began in 1976 with his Près de Paris album. Though he never took formal guitar lessons, Bensusan is among the world's most highly respected fingerstyle guitarists and has been dubbed the Claude Monet of the guitar. Aside from recordings, he has also produced several instructional books and videos for guitar players. Born in Algeria in 1957, he moved with his family to Paris when he was four. He took his early cues from the folk revival of the 1960s, but the breadth of his influences goes way beyond that, with flavors ranging through jazz, classical, and medieval into world and, in particular, Celtic music. All of these styles can be heard on Intuite, with perhaps the most striking example being the title track. This is one of seven pieces dedicated to other musicians, in this case Iraqi oud player Munir Bachir. Bensusan skillfully mimics the modality of the Arab lute even though he currently sticks exclusively to the unusual DADGAD guitar tuning. The piece dedicated to British guitarist John Renbourn, "En Route from Scarborough," borrows cleverly from the classic melody "Scarborough Fair," although this and all other compositions are Bensusan's own. Another highlight is "La Hora Española," which effectively evokes an Iberian ambience without resorting to clichés. Using neither vocals nor other instruments, Intuite constitutes a series of chilled abstract narratives--ideal music for unwinding after a stressful day. --Jon Lusk

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Steel String Masterpiece, August 31, 2002

By 

James Brown "jgblues" (Cross Junction, VA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Intuite (Audio CD)

French guitar virtuoso Pierre Bensusan has finally recorded the album his fans have been waiting for. While his past efforts have each featured a few astoundingly beautiful unaccompanied guitar pieces, they were typically dominated by Windham Hill-like ensemble arrangements including fretless bass, sax, and flute. While each offers enough to make them worthwhile listening, attempting to match other musicians with Bensusan, an acoustic guitarist with an unparalleled command of technique, melody, rhythm and space is like trying to reinvent the wheel. Why paint a mustache on the Mona Lisa?

When I heard that Bensusan's latest effort was unaccompanied solo guitar, I couldn't get my paws on a copy of it fast enough. When I did, I still wasn't quite prepared for the astounding quality of this recording. This one has it all--great tunes, engaging arrangements, flawless recording and production values, all delivered with sensitivity and technique that the rest of the guitar-playing world can only envy. No other guitarist in the world possesses Bensusan's ability to integrate such a wide range of influences without bastardizing them--you won't hear any hoakey, washed-out "world music" here.

Every cut on this album is a winner, but my personal favorite is "So Long Michael", on which Bensusan pays homage to a devoted fan, the late Michael Hedges. Hedges listened to Bensusan's work avidly while recording his landmark albums "Breakfast in the Field" and "Aerial Boundaries" (which included the tune "Bensusan").

Go visit www.pierrebensusan.com and read the comments by his many other wide-ranging and adoring "fans", including names like Leo Kottke, Steve Vai (this album was released on Vai's own label), Doc Watson and Larry Coryell, but don't waste any more time before buying this one.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars No Nah-Nahs, March 4, 2002

By 

David L. Mccabe "[e-mail]" (El Cerrito, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intuite (Audio CD)

This is the album I had been hoping for from guitarist Pierre Bensusan. The work of the late Michael Hedges sent me searching for interesting and innovative acoustic guitarists who had been slapped with a "new age" label. On Bensusan's compilation album, "Nice Feeling", while his guitar skills were excellent, I had hoped for an album of guitar playing alone, plus his "wordless singing" on a number of cuts were a distraction. The liner notes to "Intuite" state that this is "his first entirely solo acoustic album" as well as commenting on a far range of influences, and one of these influences is clearly Michael Hedges (One track is titled "So Long Michael", an obvious reference to the tragic early death of Hedges). Hedge's playing was a mixture of lyrical expertise with an acoustic guitar sound I like to call: the style of violent. Much has been written elsewhere about Hedge's forays into non-traditional playing: he would slap the soundboard, yank at the strings, and slide his fingers over the entire fretboard. His playing was melodic and frequently sharply percussive; it contained a whole new vocabulary that flew in the face of the genre label "new age", which is often equated with saccharine melodic mush. Bensusan's playing is as technically excellent as ever, but taking some cues from Hedge's "style", sounds more sonically aggressive than what I remember from his earlier work. The album successfully mixes melodic accessibility with an experimental edge. As the title track nears its conclusion, the guitar reminds me of John Coltrane's free form mid-eastern modal sound, while in contrast, the next track, "Bouree Voltige", begins with more structured melodic arpeggios. Recommended for fans of Leo Kottke, John Fahey, and, of course, Michael Hedges.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spot On!!, May 10, 2004

By 

Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Intuite (Audio CD)

I can't help think that this album is something of a taking off point for Bensusan. While his previous work is certainly engaging, Intuite is almost a gear change. All the work is marked by strong, almost 'no nonsense' composition and a solid controlled technique. Bensusan drops a lot of the gimmicky styling he was prone to and produces instead something exceptionally pure. In the process getting award after award for his effort.

Bensusan focuses as usual on DADGAD tuning, which pitches the guitar like a Celtic harp. To be really effective, this requires a guitar that is set up for its resonance - Bensusan seems to prefer steel strings, but he also uses nylon strings, and seems at home on both. In any case, this album is the final proof that DADGAD and its relatives are not 'tricks' but valid frameworks for the production of genuine music.

The music starts out with the rhythmic Kadourimdou, a jazzy combination of percussive styling and fingerplay. The Welsh Arrow and Bourree Voltige remind me a bit of John Renbourne's playing - half medieval and have modern. The title song - Intuite - is a single melodic thread taken through variation and response. Le Jardin d'Adonis is a winsome confection in alto voice. Personal favorites are the rich sound of L'Alchimiste and the whimsical traditional echoes of En Route from Scarborough Fair.