purely instrumental acoustic guitar album from an American who plays steel-stringed guitar with an admirable light touch. Influences vary,
but Dan Lambert has travelled the British Isles and the tunes he heard there clearly serve as a main source of inspiration in his composing and
playing. Most tunes follow a pattern which establishes a nice melody, then takes off in a flight of fancy, improvising and taking the tune in various directions before finally returning to base and rounding things off with a reprise of the source tune.
Dan Lambert himself sums it up perfectly in the booklet of "Melodies": "Sometimes I think of myself as a piano player, trying for a nice, rich fabric of sound. At other times, I'm a sax player, flying up high with some extended melody line while I provide my own accompaniment down below.
Sometimes I'm a cellist or a bassist, singing down in the lower, earthier range of the guitar. And other times, I'm a piper, my sound echoing against
the hills and drifting across the moors. And maybe during the last set, after a good black and tan, I'll actually get this picture of myself as a guitar player."
The CD explores the possibilities of the solo guitar, which may make "Melodies" the best choice for fellow guitarists who are interested in the technical side of the playing. It's well worth seeking out for acoustic music fans.
purely instrumental acoustic guitar album from an American who plays steel-stringed guitar with an admirable light touch. Influences vary,
but Dan Lambert has travelled the British Isles and the tunes he heard there clearly serve as a main source of inspiration in his composing and
playing. Most tunes follow a pattern which establishes a nice melody, then takes off in a flight of fancy, improvising and taking the tune in various directions before finally returning to base and rounding things off with a reprise of the source tune.