Interactive Poll: The Acoustic Sessions

George:  16 Horsepower “Black Soul Choir:  Begins with banjo picking and a mountain-style singer (makes me think of the eeriness of the Appalachian sound…or could be the inclusion of banjo).  Interesting production with the echo and sparsity.  Kinda gives me chills in a good way.  Oddly charismatic lead singer.  I like this one.  Ak Dan Gwang Chil “Yeong Jeong Geo RI”  I, too, enjoy the traditional instruments.  Front people are all women, chanting in a round, then crashy symbols, drum and a bowed instrument, a zither-like one as well, then those discordant horns and flutes come blaring in.  Absolutely fascinating sounds and hypnotic as heck.  Dang!  Jonas Hellborg “Saut-E Sarmad”  Now a complete change of pace.  Jazz combo sound, moving forward quickly with some fluent bass.  Love the flowy whatever-it-is that comes in, underpinning the sound from time to time.  Enjoyable, but the first two, hit my what-the-heck-was-that-wild-stuff spot. 

timothy leary:  Blue Effect “Little Wing”  Trio of guitarists with a drummer, middle guitarist sings quite capably.  Beautiful cover of one of Hendrix’s signature tunes.  It certainly plays as well acoustic as electric, to me, indicating a stellar composition.  Nice acoustic lead and they build the song perfectly.  Well done!  And welcome to these polls.  Chris Rodrigues & the “Angels in Heaven”  Another mountainy song, banjo and spoons, nice.  This is Delta/Appalachian/blues kind of music, complete with raspy vocalist.  Perfect setting on the porch, love watching the woman play along.  Steve’n’Seagulls “Thunderstruck”  Bluegrass madness here, with some more spoons, to boot.  A train song, clicks right along, like going down those tracks.  Love the anvil!  I think for sheer inventiveness with the instruments and the tight vocals, this is my fave of yours.

Mila:  Helge Schneider “Yes No Song”  Upbeat with saxophone and guitar duo to start.  Piano joins in, a piece with quite a sense of humour and two very adept musicians, obviously having quite the fun time, as is the audience.  Bernth “Acoustic vs Electric – Epic Guitar Battle!”  Obviously a fine instrumentalist, first on acoustic guitar, with some accompaniment, then the person switches to electric guitar.  He pairs himself with himself, in different array, to further make the point between the styles.  Level 3 acoustic, fantastic lead, showing the versatility of both player and instrument.  More of a touch style in the electric here.  To me, the acoustic shows up his talent at the instrument more, electric does lend itself to speed like that, but obviously, he’s talented either way you look at it. 

Kees:  L’Attirail “Goosebumps”  Completely different here, I love atmospheric/soundtrack type music.  There is a plaintive beginning here, also a bit of a Western twangy sound, which suits the cover photo.  It gets plinkies and more of the whangy guitar added in, and some accordion.  A feeling of somewhere like Monument Valley is conjured up for me, with coyotes wailing.  Les Madeleines “Que me importa”   Here is more of a chanteuse in a smoky bar feeling, with accordion and oompahs, sultry vocal.  Some kind of reed, or horn instrument adds interest.  Moves from French to Spanish and becomes more so in feel as well. Interesting twist from the beginning. 

Cristi:  Marius Preda Jazz Quartet “Swing 48”  Swing style jazz combo expertly performs with rapid-fire jaw-dropping guitarist.  Unusual to have a hammered dulcimer (or the like) in this kind of music, very cool to see that.  He gets a solo too, extended one, at that, the Wildman!  😊 He also does a scat portion.  The whole band is smokin’ hot.  Ends with a little classical aside.  Mircea Bodolan “Rănitul între linii” Much more laid back, lovely sonorous male vocal and acoustic guitar begins, some echo on the voice, but beautiful, sounds like a lullaby, perhaps, or a reflective tune. Lovely. Nicu Alifantis “Emotie de toamna”  Sort of in the middle of the previous two, in pacing.  This is lighthearted feeling, with lilting flute and another smooth male vocalist.  Pretty, heavenly-sounding female chorus toward the end.Enjoyed all three, but your centerpiece is my fave here.