Customer Reviews

Read Between the Lines

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

 

 

Charlie Read's CD definitely has a leading edge that keeps me interested in where his finger styling will lead next.

His brassy living on the edge style reminds me of vintage Lee Ritenaur. Charlie combines his authentic sound with an artistic creative feel like that of Earl Klugh in his ability to push the boundaries.

This CD presents Charlie as an incredibly talented musician who possesses a variety of styles. This is reflected in the diversity of the selections and reflects creativity (all but one were created by Charlie) as well as skill (the skill required for these selections will become obvious once you listen to the CD)!

Favorite songs include:

With God All Things Are Possible
In moments of this instrumental it's almost as if you can hear spoken words from the sounds of the guitar!

Trail of Tears
This is somewhat haunting - has a very interesting feel

Then and Now
The jazz/bluesy section of this piece is amazing and fun!

I'm looking forward to his next offering with great expectations and we can only hope that this will be soon!

I bought this CD and just love the variety of styles on these great instrumentals. Charlie Read is a very accomplished musician! The more you hear the songs on this CD, the better you like them!

I got this CD from one of Charlie's former students in Ohio - put it on, and was frankly blown away. First, it's cool that Charlie plays a Deluxe American Strat just like mine; too bad I can't play like him. All the songs on this CD are ones he's written except his arrangement of "Wayfaring Stanger" which happens to be a very moving rendition with lots of energy. The thing I like the most is that this guitarist doesn't play the typical 2000-notes-per-second stuff. Not that I mind that style in small doses, but let's face it - the music that sticks to your ribs needs more than hotshot riffing non stop. There's a lot of variety on this CD which might alienate someone looking for one flavor. Not me; the variety is what intrigued me from the first listen. There's some fast, flashy guitar playing on here; but the emphasis seems to be on good melodic songs which happen to feature electric guitar rather than a vocalist. All the songs are instrumental, so you can imagine your own lyrics as you listen, if you're so inclined. I really like "Then and Now" which starts with a bluesy feel and ends up with some surprising and tasteful changes. It's my favorite, followed by "With God All Things Are Possible." I was humming along with this one the first time I heard it, and the incredible acoustic interlude is like icing on the cake. Like I say, if you're totally into blues, or shredding, or fingerpicking - to the exclusion of everything else - this may not be your favorite. But if you don't like being bored, and if you like tasteful electric guitar by the truckload, "read between the lines" is a great guitar album for all ages and tastes. Oh yeah - killer tone too.