Unfinished Business

Danny Gatton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 30, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Powerhouse Records
• ASIN: B0006FFRPW
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,627 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will knock your socks off!, January 5, 2005

By 

B. J Robbins (La Quinta, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unfinished Business (Audio CD)

This is one of my favorite albums by Danny. It is a true potpourri of styles (but isn't that what Danny was all about?), and if anyone doubts that Danny was the greatest guitarist to walk on this sweet earth ... well just listen to this CD.

"Sleepwalk" had been in Danny's repertoire for many years when this was recorded, but he plays it with such feeling, such inventiveness, such utter mastery of his instrument, that if it were a painting, it would be hanging in the Louvre. This is a cut to be treasured, listened to over and over ... it grows more beautiful with each repeated listening.

"Notcho Blues" is, I think, a tribute to Roy Buchanan, Danny's elder fellow Tele player, from whom he picked up a lot of guitar. Roy has a similar sounding cut on one of his albums, except his blues stays on the tonic for the entire piece. Danny stays on the tonic for an extended period, but then moves to the subdominant and completes the blues form. This is done so dramatically and with such soul, that it will blow you away. Awesome!!

"Fingers on Fire" shows Danny's humorous side as well as demonstrating his monster technique. It is the musical equivalent of a Marx Brothers movie.

"Cherokee" is Danny's tribute to his first musical influence, Les Paul. He does an admirable job imitating Les, with the help of some overdubbing.

"Lappin' it Up" is played on a lap steel guitar, and The Charlie Christian piece is played on a big Gibson.

"Melancholy Serenade", Jackie Gleason's TV theme, is given the royal treatment. This cut shows why Danny was really one of a kind: he didn't play his guitar like most other guitarists. On this cut, he plays it as if it were a tenor saxophone. His solo is so funky, so full of soul, you can imagine Cannonball Adderly (on tenor) playing it (his lines are definitely not those of a guitarist). He could make his Tele sound like a B-3 organ, a pedal steel, a cow bell, etc.

The other songs are equally delightful. This CD is a must for any fans of Danny, of guitar, or just of plain great music.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally they released this again !, May 27, 2005

By 

Jazzcat "stef" (Genoa, Italy Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unfinished Business (Audio CD)

Oh Yeah ! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yeah! The did it! Finally they did it! They released again "Unfinished business" which was the last album I didn't have from Danny Gatton! Yeah! My collection is now complete! I own everything Danny has ever recorded and published! I own the "whole story"! And what an incredibly story that has been! Danny was an amazing player, he was able to play every imaginable american music style with the best of them and probably better than the best players of each style! Jazz, rockabilly, blues, chickenpicking, surf, slide, acoustic, ballads, bluegrass everything, he could play everything with great authority and he hated to be categorized in just one of those kinds of playing because he knew he was able to play marvellous music in all those styles. Try to figure out that it happened in the nineties that Guitar Player Magazine readers voted him as the best country guitar player and he did never record a pure country album in his life! Talking about a spectacular player that could outplay every cat in the biz! But after all, he played something that was really personal out of all those influences. He play very good music not a bunch of licks taken from here or there. This album is among his best in my opinion together with "Redneck Jazz", "Redneck Jazz Explosion", "Relentless" with Joey De Francesco and few more. It's simply Danny at the top of his game. He was a living encyclopedia of american music. His '53 telecaster in his hands was able to produce some truly breathtaking rollercoaster music. He is one of the very few guys that have left me asking "How did he do that?" (to quote a very wellknown Eddie Van Halen phrase about Allan Holdsworth). I mean, "unifinished Business" is Danny at his best. And "When he's on, he's probably the best there is" (just to quote another wellknown statement, this time from Jimmy Page talking about Jeff Beck). Noone played the american music like Danny did. If you don't know Danny this one is a very good place to start. If you know Danny and you don't own this album you know what you're missing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, September 24, 1999

By 

DC from TX (Round Rock, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unfinished Business (Audio CD)

Danny was so good it's ridiculous. When I first heard this CD years ago, I flipped out. Words cant do justice to Danny's playing. Just listen! Awesome tone and technique. This is a must have for any guitarist, it will put you in your place quick. "Fingers on Fire" will have your jaw on the ground. "Sky King" will make you fly. They didn't call him "The Humbler" for nothing. So sad that he's gone...