By: Dmitry M. Epstein
ife has a tune to it, and a tune has a player who's larger than life.
It seems to be the past thing for guitarists to combine a filigree technique
with a top-notch melodiousness, but Chicago's best kept secret, Eric Mantel,
proves such a blend can still be a modern thing. Calling Eric a legend may
be too loud even if he does his thing for more than two decades yet in terms
of sheer virtuosity of hand and mind Mantel deserves the labeling. "The
Unstruck Melody" takes a listener on some fantastic journey - there's a
concept thread lurking amidst the notes - that is, in all its colorful
variety, a rumination on life. And like in real life, it's little things
that bring joy: sitar ringing here, slider lingering there, bluegrass
ding-a-linging elsewhere. Stylistically rich, Mantel's music has a tasteful
jazzy verve to it whether it comes to heavy funky riffs of "Wings Of Fire"
or sparse swing of "The Simple Things" where Eric's soft vocals work out a
fine harmony with his guitar. He knows a value of space between the sounds
too well and explores this space with a real gusto, just listen to the
"Affectionately Yours" classical acoustic lace or "Tai-Chi", and he's no
stranger to clever pop, too, as witnessed by "Merry Go Round". A lot of
feelings went into the album to spill out from the songs like "Only Want You
Love" that's hard not to hum along to all the shredding notwithstanding. And
it's hard not to love the record which ends with a hidden track of funny
Buddy Holly impresonation. The chord is struck.
****1/2
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