Customer Reviews

Music by... W.G. Snuffy Walden

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had the good fortune of working with Snuffy in '82 when he toured with Lenny & the Squigtones. Lenny & Squiggy did a great show -- hilarious, as you'd expect -- but as a concert sound engineer whose principal focus was great music, I have to say that Snuffy's guitar work was a highlight of the show for me. He was a superb player who brought an element of class and superior musical quality that resonated with my own sensibilities as a musician.

That was before his continuing gig as a tunesmith for popular TV shows. In fact, I've never paid much attention to prime time TV, so I missed Snuffy's ascent to relative stardom...until I recently found this album in Apple's online iTunes store. YOW!! It blew me away...the Snuffster's still coaxing stuff out of a guitar that'll make you sit up and pay attention.

If you like the TV show themes that this album covers, I guess you'd have to like this album. But as a TV ignoramus, I had never heard any of it before I heard this album...and it still knocked my socks off.

Here's why: Snuffy is simply one of the most tasteful, tuneful, splendidly rhythmic melodic guitarists living on planet Earth. You can find guitarists with killer chops anywhere; I know some guys who can play hot licks that'll dazzle you...for a few minutes. After that, it's (yawn) "...er, but can you actually play anything INTERESTING, pal?" Technical accomplishment and musically tasteful playing are not necessarily the same thing.

Snuffy's got both, in spades. He plays with...well, finesse. He feels what he's playing, and it shows up in the way his music feels when you hear it. His sense of phrasing and melody give his guitar work the same sense I always get when I hear The Beatles; it's just so natural, so effortless. Yet, it has intensity...the kind of musical depth, tonal complexity, and just plain feel-good riffing that makes it sound easy. For him, it IS easy.

I look for variety when I decide whether an album is worth owning. I look for the kind of complexity that sounds deceptively simple, yet manages to engage my interest every time I hear it. This album has that quality about it -- everything from poignant, soft-textured melodies to rip-snorting rockers, with plenty of funky, spicy, rhythmically textured stuff in between. It's loaded with tunes that maintain their intensity with layers of sound you can't quite fathom, they're so richly entailed with superior melodic content...layer upon layer of it.

I've been a guitarist since 1965 -- played hundreds (thousands?) of live gigs, recorded albums, and as an engineer & producer I've worked with more high-quality musicians than I can count, including some of the best guitarists in the world. But there's an upper echelon of talented musicians who set themselves apart by virtue of their surpassing quality, and Snuffy's among them. It shows up in every tune on this album. If you want guitar playing that's as good as it gets, get this album. You won't be disappointed.

Tasteful. That's how I would summarize this album.

This recording was a serendipitous discovery for me. In a stack of CDs that were given to our high school library, I was immediately drawn to acoustic guitar on the cover. I was not disappointed when I cracked open the case and dropped it into my CD player.

Snuffy Walden has written some extraordinarily beautiful melodies, and thankfully has kept them free from lyrics on this album. The majority of this recording has a quiet, restful atmosphere, played mostly on acoustic six-string guitar. Tracks at times are accompanied by string quartet, orchestra, voices, or "smooth jazz" style combo.

Snuffy appears to pay tribute on various tracks to some of my all-time favorite guitarists including an unplugged Eric Clapton, Bruce Cockburn, Will Ackerman and Phil Keaggy. There's even a hint of some of the classical greats such as Segovia or John Williams to be heard here (not that they'd ever play steel strings with a pick, but there's still a hint of that sound).

This has quickly become my favorite album of the summer, and it will remain in the top of my personal playlist when I return to school and play it as background music in the library.

I bought this CD in large part due to W.G. Snuffy Walden's great music that he composes for The West Wing. The entire CD is just a beautiful collection of music that instantly becomes the soundtrack to your entire life - it's joyful, playful, hopeful and reverently heartbreaking. It evokes reflections of events that have changed your life and manages to make those memories even sharper. If you don't believe me, just listen to track #2, and see if it doesn't touch your soul.

I bought this Cd for the soundtracks, since "The West Wing," and "Felicity" are two of my favorite shows, but it's the rest of the CD that really knocked me out. Sophisticated and simple, moving and joyous. Wow! I haven't taken it out of the cd player since I bought it.

There's little doubt that most people will be drawn to this CD for the TV music, and rightly so. The bonus tracks of the West Wing Suite and the short West Wing-Main Title along with Snuffy's playing of "Once & Again", Felicity's Theme, and Thirtysomething (revisited) are all terrific, but you'll find his origninal work beautiful, soulful, and expertly played.

I came across this CD while looking for others and intuitively, I felt it might be of interest. Excuse me for saying this, but I had never heard of W.G. Snuffy Walden before although I have seen the series "West Wing" on TV and heard the theme music which he wrote and two "bonus" takes of this are at the end of this fine CD.

The music on this CD is beautifully written and performed by Snuffy and/or his friends and is a pleasure to take in over and over. The moods range from mellow, lofty, airy, soothing, melancholy, contemplative, meditative, inspiring, and spiritual.

There are Celtic-like vocals in the background on some cuts along with a beautiful and pleasing arrangements of acoustic and electric guitar, violin, viola, percussions, drums, piano, cello, and woodwinds.

Those who enjoy this type of music will be overjoyed- it's a real jewel and I have put it right at the top of all my mellow mood enhancing CDs!

When "My So-Called Life" was taken off the air, I was doubly dissapointed. One, I thought the show was incredible. Two, I thought I'd never hear any of it's chilling music again. Here it is. "Angela Smiled" starts off a beautiful CD with a bang!

First, Snuffy is an amazingly tasteful guitar player and the guitar production is incredible (fret noise, buzzing and all). Second, you've never heard anything like these tracks. Well, maybe you have. "Felicity", "Thirtysomething", "Once and Again". But the originals are just as good. "Eugene's Ragtop" smokes with a bluesy swing. "New York" and "Big City" give us a glimpse of Walden's rough side, with just enough bite to demand your attention. And "Love Unspoken, well what can you say. Hold back the tears on this one. Still, with all that, "Angela Smiled" is worth the price of admission alone. Sit back and enjoy it!

This CD is all around wonderful! If you're a West Wing fan, then the last two tracks are for you. I fell in love with the entire CD. It's a great CD to relax to or to take to work and pop in the CD drive and make the workday go by faster.

A must buy for any instrumental music fan.

I've played this CD so many times in the short two weeks I've had it that I've practically worn it out! Definitely not the same old soundtrack kind of CD. Terrific stuff from TV, like the West Wing theme and Once & Again, but lots of great tunes you haven't heard before as well. My favorite is Turtle Bay, but it's all great.

I've always loved the music that Mr. Walden creates for television series, and this CD certainly met my expectations of this skilled musician. The wonderful familiar themes from West Wing and Felicity couldn't be more fitting, and the original tracks that were new to me are just as beautiful and evocative. This is truly a master at his best!