Customer Reviews

22 Timeless Tracks From The Folk Den Project

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The fourth release on McGuinn's own record label is perhaps the prettiest of the lot, an eco-friendly Oasis Digipak densely illustrated in warm colors. As stylish and attractive as it might be, it's ironic that the cover of 22 Timeless Tracks has a Dalí-inspired melting watch on it: Dalí, with his high detail and dense symbolism, is one of the last artists I'd link with Roger McGuinn. If McGuinn were a painter, he'd be not Dalí but Picasso, who loved primitive art and complained that artists before him had forgotten how to simplify.

You can hear that in the quintessential McGuinn guitar solo (such as in "The Cruel War"), which is the song's melody played plainly on his Rickenbacker 12-string. Imagine Picasso, in stages, reducing a bull to a few thin black lines.

Or listen to McGuinn (daringly) take on "Waltzing Matilda". We often hear it played fancily with a new jazz chord every bar or two; McGuinn distills it to a handful of tritone chords, and, as befits a national anthem, respectfully renders it undanceable.

But he's no primitive. He reminds us how he can paint images with sound, creating wheels within wheels in "Ezekiel Saw a Wheel". He doesn't mind showing off a little, making a $32 guitar sparkle in "Railroad Bill". McGuinn's idea of the folk process goes beyond telling a new story: "Wild Mountain Thyme", which he turned into a rock ballad in the `60s, is a bouncy reggae tune here.

Every track but one was previously released on the magnificent 100-song Folk Den Project 1995-2005. The new one is a friendly Barry McGuire and McGuinn duet on "The Boll Weevil". It's one reason why you want 22 Timeless Tracks even if you already own the big package.

You might want it also because these songs never sounded so good. Perhaps the result of a different mastering process, the new CD has a richer sound to my ear than the earlier collection.

Finally, 22 Timeless Tracks has the appeal of being a cream-of-the-crop selection, hand picked by the man himself. This is what sounds good to McGuinn. Who am I to argue? Sounds good to me, too.

When we put this CD in to play, we were already expecting the wonderful voice and instrumentals we always get from this artist. But beyond that, the clarity of these recordings is so crystal clear that you think Roger is sitting next to you, giving you a private concert. Having heard him several times in person, this CD is a wonderful example of his incomparable interpretation of these beautiful folk songs. I started to list my personal favorites and realized I was listing practically every song, so I'll leave it at this - this CD just gets better and better with every listening.

Roger McGuinn has a way of taking songs that most everybody else has left for dead and breathing new life into them through the sheer energy of his voice, creative spirit and virtuoso musicianship. Each one of these songs is a gem in its own right, while the record as a whole connects the dots between traditional folk songs, post-modern rock 'n' roll and the future of music itself. In other words, it is classic Roger McGuinn!

I've been a McGuinn fan ever since the Byrds formed up and did "Mr. Tambourine Man" I'm very pleased that he got back to folk roots and included some of the very best folk performers around. Some tracks are better than others, but I don't consider any tracks bad. I do highly recommend this album to folk music lovers and to those who still love McGuinn's 12-string playing, simple as that. Nuff said.