MARTIN SIMPSON : MARTIN CARTHY :
GORDON GILTRAP
MICHAEL MESSER : BIG JIM SULLIVAN : STEVE TILSTON
JOHN ETHERIDGE :
CLIVE CARROLL : WIZZ JONES
NET RHYTHMS
SOUND TECHNIQUES REVIEW >
Guitar
Maestros - (Sound Techniques)
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SHOULDN'T DO THAT >MICHAEL MESSER & ED GENIS
WRITE ME A FEW SHORT LINES >MICHAEL MESSER & ED GENIS
The Guitar Maestros series,
whose first six titles have just been released, endeavours
to encapsulate a combination of new live studio performances by, and intimate
conversations
with, some of today's most celebrated and influential acoustic guitarists,
revealing the real
passion behind these talented musicians. In these six DVDs we're treated to a
staggering
variety of styles, approaches and personalities, together giving the widest
possible perspective
to the term "guitar maestro". Each of the DVDs follows roughly the same format:
a conversational
interview interspersed with a number of entire songs or tunes, then a series of
between four and
eight individually banded "additional tracks" of performances recorded in the
same studio. Some
of the issues also contain a further bonus section, which I'll come to later.
The DVDs aren't in
any way intended as technical instruction videos, but any reasonably experienced
and competent
guitarist will be able to glean loads of useful tips and ancillary information.
Having said that, even
as an enthusiastic and (hopefully) informed listener and not a practising
musician I still found the
more overtly technical parts of the interviews and explanations refreshingly
informative and genuinely
enlightening, rather than being just impenetrable jargon-ridden gobbledygook.
It's abundantly clear
that even when "talking technical", each of the Maestros imparts both a total
enthusiasm for his
music and a casual, almost laconic view of his own level of accomplishment and
yet refuses to
talk down to his audience (now that's a combination of qualities I can readily
admire!), and the
end result is that mostly you're inspired even if (ever so nicely) intimidated
by the guys' expertise.
And in all but one case, I came away at the end of the DVD feeling that I'd
gained either a
significant amount of new knowledge or else a greater level of
understanding of the music or the musician.
Michael Messer
No 2 in the series presents Michael Messer, the Kent-born musician whose CDs
have been
(rightly) so enthusiastically reviewed. The DVD's 95 minutes kicks off with an
interview in which
Michael personably introduces us to the various instruments (National, Hawaiian,
Dobro) he uses as
well as discussing his formative years and his major inspirations. Although
Michael admits his main
influences are the delta blues greats and classic Chicago blues, he's also an
innovator, and what
comes across strongly is his appealing open-mindedness and willingness to
embrace other influences
while remaining absolutely true to those basic blues roots. The interview
provides insights into the
origins and mechanics of "locally amplified" guitars, with much fascinating
detail, and he also spends
time describing the various accoutrements (slides, bottlenecks, etc) he uses.
Highlights among
Michael's 15 performances include the superbly poised Luna Hula and a
magisterial Shine On.
On some of the numbers, Michael's accompanied by regular musical partner Ed
Genis.
David Kidman NET RHYTHMS ONLINE MAGAZINE June 2006
SONGS PERFORMED IN THIS FILM
I Cant Be Satisfied
Walking Blues
Lonesome Atlanta Blues
Turning Blue
Rolling in my Sweet Baby's Arms
Shouldn’t Do That
Blue Letters
Write Me A Few Short Lines
Rollin' & Tumblin'
The Lone Wolf
Crow Blues
Shine On
If You Were the River
Luna Hula
Lady Be Good
MUSICROOM.COM >CUSTOMER REVIEW
>FIVE STAR RATING!
For those of you interested in blues
slide guitar in all its genres, this DVD is excellent.
The Sound Techniques production team has done a fantastic job – the DVD is
of very high quality in terms of both sound and vision. Michael Messer plays
superbly
and features both classic blues tracks (Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson etc) and
his own
compositions. Michael discusses and demonstrates National, square-neck Dobro,
tri-cone
and electric styles of slide guitar playing. And his talent and life-long
passion for slide guitar
shines through. Quite inspirational. Whilst this is not billed as an
'instructional' DVD,
the camera work is so clear that you will have no problem steeling licks!
Robin - (Tywyn, United Kingdom) 5 STARS!!!
CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO DOWNLOAD REVIEWS
Guitar Maestro’s Review by NetRhythms- Click here to download
Series review in - Froots October 2006 Issue- Click here to download
Guitar Maestros review– Music Maker - Click here to download
6 DVD review– Maverick Magazine - Click here to download
Guitar Maestros Article - Guitar Buyer - Click to Download
GO TO YOU TUBE AND SEARCH 'MICHAEL MESSER' TO SEE
CLIPS
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this DVD
CLICK THIS LINK TO MICHAEL MESSER FORUM
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SOUND TECHNIQUES OWN WEBSITE
http://www.soundtechniques.co.uk/buyDvd.asp?pid=8
OTHER ARTISTS IN THE GUITAR
MAESTROS DVD SERIES INCLUDE:
MARTIN SIMPSON : MARTIN CARTHY :
GORDON GILTRAP
MICHAEL MESSER : BIG JIM SULLIVAN : STEVE TILSTON
JOHN ETHERIDGE :
CLIVE CARROLL : WIZZ JONES
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