By: MJ Brady
ichael Elsner is a guitarist that has been quite busy as a session
artist for quite some time, and while this cd presents his first solo
recording, chances are you may actually have heard him play if you had
seen any of the following: "Ella Enchanted" soundtrack, "The Young &
The Restless", "The Bold & the Beautiful", and "Cold Case" or
commercials by: Audi, Mazda and Rent Way. He is not a perfect stranger
to the professional musicians scene as he has endorsements with: Brian
Moore Custom Guitars, Elixir Strings, Visual Sound Pedals and Presonus
studio gear. All that said, Micheal Elsner has been around, and now is
presenting his musical statement, a personal compilation of
instrumental guitar oriented songs that reflect his wide range of
appeal and influences.
Without question, his prior work doing sessions shows his ability to
stay away from the stereotypical guitar hero type of effort. He shows
a taste for moods, melody, and multi-genre settings. The songs are all
short and concise, each displaying another facet to his accomplished
playing ability. As it would be far too easy to compare Michael's
guitar and writing to so many other guitarists out there, he really is
one that takes from so many different musical worlds. I'd say a little
bit Tim Pierce, a bit of Joe Satriani, add along a taste of Giants' -
Dann Huff, and you would be close to his electric style. He also lends
some tasteful acoustic moments on the cd, adding some more diversity
to the sounds.
As for the overall listening quality of this cd, soundwise, it is
excellent, yet understand that this is a guitarists' cd, and will
mostly appeal to fans of the guitar, it is not a metal-ish recording,
as his writing stays true to the melody and form, nothing overly
complicated or headbanging. This is not a groundbreaking effort, most
of the music is something we have heard before, yet it does introduce
us to a newcomer that has the skills and variety of styles to pique
the interest of those that enjoy instrumental music.
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