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61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unlimited Addition, April 13, 2004
Got mine in the UPS delivery yesterday and gave it a listen last night. Very impressive. I like the album as a whole, but here's the stuff that jumped out at me.Let me start by saying that the cover of "If I Needed Someone" is probably one of the best covers of anything I've ever heard. George was always my fave Fab, and I think McGuinn did here what he was so lauded for with his interpretation of Dylan in the early years. He took a great song written and performed by someone else and put his own stamp on it. I really would have to say I like this version better than The Beatles'. So, this came pretty close to being a perfect song in my opinion. Two of my favorite all-time artists rolled up into one great rendition of a tune. If he'd worked Buddy Holly in there somehow I would've popped a sprocket. If he ever covers "Maybe Baby" though, and doesn't invite me to sing back-up I'm gonna cry. "Shady Grove" is a kicker. I thoroughly enjoyed the treatment. "James Alley Blues" is probably my second overall fave on the record. Man, does that thing rock. I remembered "Castanet Dance" from a demo Roger sent me a couple of years ago. Very ethereal song. Love the dreamlike quality. We've been talking here all year about doing a pipe setting of "Shenandoah". I'll have to play this for the Pipe Major and get him fired back up to get it set. Lovely tune. McGuinn has always managed to sound so plaintive at just the right time, and he is ESSENTIAL here. I liked "When The Saints Come Marching In", and I agree with whoever it was (maybe Mike Oborski, or maybe someone on AMB) who said that it belongs in the Easy Rider soundtrack. I probably would've trimmed a verse or two, but only because I couldn't remember all those lyrics. Kudos. Is that
Camilla singing back-up, or Kammy Kolorado, or both? Nice and airy. "Saint James Infirmary" is dark and I love it. That belongs in somebody's movie too. I would've swapped the positions of "Made In China" and "May The Road Rise To Meet You". Easy to understand why the latter is back by popular request. "Made In China" is a killer good tune, but "May The Road Rise To Meet You" is a natural closer, and I think right up there with Dylan when he was ending shows with "Forever Young". I'm probably the last person on Earth who goes for the obvious most of the time, but I'm also a
sentamentalist. I think a lot of people find comfort in having something predictable, and if I were Roger I'd close every show on the tour with "May The Road Rise To Meet You". You know, he really should consider taking up the guitar seriously and think about a career in this area. :) He plays alright. Good on you Camilla. Again, I am really excited by your display of juevos by doing the whole album by yourself, right down to the distributing. I hope you sell a bunch of 'em. I got two, and I'll keep plugging the record every chance I get. I think it's fine.
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31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Back to Rio, April 3, 2004
By A Customer
Somebody who learned how to play electric guitar in the last 39 years would need about four seconds to identify the bright ring of McGuinn's signature Rickenbacker 370/12RM playing George Harrison's "If I Needed Someone", the opener of Limited Edition. (That choice has a special charm if you know that McGuinn bought his first Rickenbacker because he saw Harrison use one in A Hard Day's Night, and that Harrison later wrote "If I Needed Someone" as a nod to the sound McGuinn and his Byrds developed with it.) But that's just one way this is clearly, distinctly, and idiosyncratically a Roger McGuinn record. McGuinn and his friend Richard Thompson independently chose to sing the traditional "Shenandoah" on recent CDs. Thompson explores the song as a pop ballad; McGuinn doesn't let you forget it's a sea chantey. There are more traditional songs on the CD, including "James Alley Blues", a staple of his live shows, a bluesy "St. James Infirmary", and a decidedly modernized "Shady Grove" (great for playing loud when stopped at traffic lights). Original compositions are equally well represented, including the angry rocker "Made In China", a postcard from Hollywood Boulevard called "Parade of Lost Dreams", and the ecstatic "Castanet Dance". Except for an instrumental gleaned from a live show, all are co-written by McGuinn and his wife Camilla. They are also the producers, and did the mixing; McGuinn was his own engineer. This is the state of tapeless, digital recording, and it couldn't be cleaner. It's also the state of indie music[...]. Fans haven't had a dose of McGuinn jingle-jangle this potent since his 1991 masterpiece Back From Rio, and this fan, for one, thanks him.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MUSIC TO BLOW FUSES AND MINDS, April 2, 2004
This is the album I have been waiting for McGuinn to make for 35 years. Since the original Byrds broke up he's made some fine albums, but for me he's never quite - over the length of an entire album - reached the heights of THE NOTORIOUS BYRD BROTHERS. He's finally done it. I'm astounded. LIMITED EDITION is a seamless collection of sonic beauty combining great songwriting and a wide range of musical styles in which McGuinn pushes both his mastery of the 12-string guitar and his genius at combining and arranging disparate musical forms to create what amounts to a majestic unified whole. From the opening chords of the first song, "If I Needed Someone," to the crashing, driving, burning rock of the last song, "Made In China," this album is fantastic. After all these years McGuinn has shown us what he can do when he really puts his heart and mind to it and also has complete control of the recording process. I cannot select any single song (or songs) for praise, because they really are all fine and, as I said, they also combine into a unified work which is more than the sum of its parts. Do yourself a favor, buy this record, and put yourself into the hands of a master musician. God bless you, Roger McGuinn.
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Roger McGuinn shares his favorite music with Amazon customers. See all artists' picks on our Music You Should Hear page.
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