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Review by Goodwood March 24, 2008 (4 of 5 found this review helpful)
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Performance: |
I remember fondly buying every CD remotely of interest in the early days. I still don't know how HMV in Oxford Street came to have a Japanese version of Virtuoso but I bought it on the spot - even though there was only a token track listing in English.
The music has always impressed but I never liked the sound - at all. It just sounded sterile and steely and as much as I always wanted to play it I always wanted to quickly take it off again. At best it would be background music (I know).
Which leads me onto what strikes me about the SACD.
Wood! That's what you get with the SACD - in spades. When he plays it gently you can hear the resonance and harmonics. When he plays hard you get that mechanical distortion and compression that a guitar gives you. The CD just didn't convey it. To be fair some of this is as likely to be due to the mastering at the time.
Note that his guitar (probably the Gibson ES175) is mic'd throughout except for Track 3 (Heres that Rainy Day) which is the only time you get to hear the neck pickup (with possible a very small amount of mic mixed in).
This leaves you to enjoy the music and, yes vituosity! Any one who likes Martin Taylor and hasn't heard this will quickly realise where the roots of "Artistry" are - right here. The format and the acoustically rich tone have great similarities. Virtuoso is produced somewhat drier leaving both albums to sound great in their own way.
If you like Jazz guitar, and don't mind dispensing with the rest of the band, then do yourself a favour, get this and have one of the greatest jazz guitarists entertain you right in your living room.
This is fidelity, complete with some eiry sounds of fumbling and body contact!
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