By: Henk te Veldhuis
echnically spoken a very versatile guitarist, who experimented with a lot of
styles including folk, rock, blues, metal, jazz, funk, avant-garde, classical, pop.
Now Power Fields his newest release is out, a complete finger-style album.
Patrick plays as well a 6 string acoustic guitar as an electric 10 string guitar
where he created his own style on, using the bass lines as a percussive and
rhythmical part of his play. One of his inspirers is Preston Reed who is just a
master in these techniques. The album expresses as well classical as jazz
elements and is very energizing. The 10 string Santucci treble-bass guitar has
a total different sound than his Wechter acoustic one.The Santucci guitar has
very deep basses and the melody strings convey more a sharp character and
the Wechter acoustic guitar is more balanced. Most tracks are very rhythmical
and with exceptional percussion as on I can Drive, Machine Gun Dance and
for instance Nuclear Power Surge. Other pieces on the acoustic guitar have
a similar approach as Morning Wind, Time and Fire, Joker in The Deck and
Magellan's Warning but have the typical acoustic guitar sound one reminds
one of Preston Reed's percussive and melodic approach. It is real fascinating
how Patrick Woods all combines tremendous skills as percussion, melody
line building, structure and expression in a composition. Far From Home is
one of his quiet ballads which do impress one with a lot of intimacy and
composing attainments, one could wish for the balance of the whole album
for more of these top-notch pieces, which touch one deep inside. The overall
impression of Patrick Woods is, a fantastic guitarist who is generating first-
rate techniques as phrasing and percussion to a very high standard of guitar
playing.
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