STANDING OVATION

Named after the guitar brand he uses, this album also implies "solo" written on the same level as the album. Indeed Standing Ovation sits firmly well in the late 70's acoustic period of LC, beit solo or in duo, PC or SK and later the Meting Of The Spirit trio with PDL and JMcL. So we have an album where LC plays an excellent relaxing acoustic guitar, shifting from 16 to 12 strings at will, with one track where he tries himself on the piano, aptly titles Piano Improvisation and one more track, an Indian raga where he's accompanied by violinist Subramanian. The acoustic guitar pieces (all written by him) range from roughly 2 minutes to just below five and show LC in varying moods featuring his mastery of the guitar and the depth of his talent, but the usual Reinhardt influences are certainly not as audible as it is on his other albums of the time. Progheads will have a preference for the Indian raga Spiritual dance and its 7-mins+ music happiness, the only non-Coryell track of the album. As for LC's performance on the piano, it is adequate and demonstrates a good understanding of the instrument, but understandably he's less at ease. Not an essential album for progheads, although if you're a Coryell fan, it will quickly become one