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PURCHASEBirds is the first collection
of solo instrumental compositions by Dobro virtuoso lloyd Thayer. The album
features 17 acoustic
soundscapes all played on lapstyle guitar, meaning, the guitar is
played flat in the lap and fretted with a metal bar. Thayer's playing is
rooted in the tradition of John Fahey, Robbie Basho, and other Takoma
artists, but also contains deep echoes of an older, outsider group of players
from the 1920s like Sylvester Weaver and Frank Hutchinson.
From the regal beauty of songs like "Great Blue Heron" or "War
Never Ends" to the haunting, mysterious richness of "February
Grebe"
and "24 Hours," lloyd's playing covers a wide range of
emotions and moods. "Riding the Rails" and "Lost Oystercatcher"
feature some
beautiful work on the Weissenborn guitar, which is just one of a variety
of guitars used on the CD, including a 1929 National Squareneck Tricone,
a Dobro made of fiberglass, and a 12 string acoustic guitar specially
modified to be played lap style.
Perhaps the high point of the album is the eighth song, "Hijaz Mojo."
At just over 8 minutes long, this piece is an improvisation on National
Steel
Guitar in the ancient Middle Eastern Maquam or scale called "Hijaz,"
which is popular throughout the Arab world. lloyd's study of Middle Eastern
and classical Indian musics shines through on this piece, which crosses
the line between cultures with graceful fluidity. The CD also features some
agressive right-hand picking work on the 12
string on songs like "Mississippi Ripposaurus" and "Charles
River Rag." Finally, Birds comes to a close with the
powerful and expressive "UnitedStatesofAmnesia,"
a one-take, one-time improvisation that perfectly sums up
Thayer's mastery of his chosen instrument.
Honed during endless hours on subway platforms in his native Boston, Thayer's
playing reaches new heights on this CD, and pushes the
boundaries of what can be done on a Dobro. In fact, many of the
songs on this CD grew out of improvisations played while waiting for
the next group of subway commuters to arrive. A beautiful work from
start to finish, Birds is played from the
heart and soul by a master artist, with intensity and emotion, and is
for lovers of acoustic music everywhere.
The man who literally wrote the book on Dobro playing,
Stacy Phillips raves:
"Lots of original approaches, excellent playing, great tone, cool
sounds I've never heard from a slide before. . . All the guitars sound great."
1.
Piping Plovers 0:26
2. Riding
the Rails with Chris Darling 3:00
3. The
Run up Butter Mountain 4:11
4. Great
Blue Heron 3:33
5. Hammerhead
0:53
6. Pole
Vaulting Mingus 5:45
7. War
Never Ends 3:59
8. Hijaz
Mojo 8:13
9. 73
Bus vs. 71 Bus 2:36
10.
Charles River Rag 1:28
11.
Salty and Smooth 1:13
12.
Lost Oystercatcher 6:24
13.
Mississippi Ripposaurus 1:45
14.
Glass Flowers in Mothballs 0:43
15.
February Grebe 3:31
16.
24 Hours 1:53
17.
UnitedStatesofAmnesia 2:40
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