Category Archives: Reviews

Review : Mark Kroos “And Grace Will Lead Me Home” CD (Self Released, 2010)

Last November I happened to be scanning a community newspaper and saw a picture of a young guy playing an Ovation doubleneck. His name was Mark Kroos and he was doing a gig at a local church. The article called him “one of the only touring doubleneck guitarists in the world.” It referred to his “incredible tapping technique,” and mentioned influences such as Michael Hedges and Andy McKee. Well, that was sufficiently intriguing for me. Long story short, Kroos’s playing was impressive. But the Minneapolis church’s thin-sounding PA system didn’t—I suspected—nearly do him justice. Getting acquainted with his debut album And Grace Will Lead Me Home confirmed that.

There are, of course, masters who’ve taken the tapping approach to exalted levels—names like Emmett Chapman (of Chapman Stick fame), Hedges, Stanley Jordan, Eddie Van Halen. And purely from the perspective of hammer-on/pull-off virtuosity, Kroos—trained as a jazz guitarist, with three years in a touring ska/punk band—definitely knows a thing or two. With two six-string necks (the Ovation’s upper 12-string neck is strung and played as a six-string) going simultaneously, he creates a magnificent sound. Think sheets, waves, cascades of steel-string goodness—with shimmering treble lines and rumbling bass. Kroos’s two-fisted playing perhaps has more in common with the piano than the guitar— really and truly lap piano. Kroos also plays singleneck on a few items, to similar effect, and some of his tunings include Open D, DGDGAD and DADGAD. Continue reading →

Review : Don Ross “Breakfast For Dogs” CD (CandyRat Records, 2010)

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Breakfast For Dogs, Don Ross’ first solo guitar outing since 1999’s Passion Session, brings just enough innovation to familiar grounds, making it a disc worth hearing. It may seem that Ross’ relaxed virtuosity modulates within the boundaries of his comfort zone, but the range he is capable of exploring is actually quite broad. The tunes on this album are delivered with an unwavering enthusiasm for the instrument, and his connection with the novelty of the guitar is a theme that moves the listener through these tracks. What differentiates this collection from albums by some of Ross’ peers is that it doesn’t aim to be merely a podium for “gee-whiz” technical prowess, like the worst of Leo Kottke’s albums, but is an honestly played record, one that doesn’ t hide its weaknesses or carry a crutch.

The obsession with rhythm on this set of tunes has arguable merit. On one hand, the persistent 4/4 beat that most of the songs are anchored by, such as on “From France to India” and “Crazy”, provides a rhythmic underpinning closest to ragtime, with syncopated beats in the bass. On the other hand, the treatment of the melody and overall playing style is colored by a funky, almost disco feel, and so a song that might flourish were it given the chance to walk on its own two feet comes off as smarmy and cloying, with a snappy backbeat like so much mid-90’ s pop rock. Continue reading →

Review : Kenn Fox “Malakai’s Rainbow” CD (Spiritone Records, 2010)

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Kenn Fox is a fingerstyle guitar veteran from Wisconsin, and his new CD Malakai’s Rainbow finds him working in an easy going, contemporary style. The tracks are all original instrumentals, alternately melancholy and breezy, and the sound of the disc has a modern acoustic sheen, with occasional reverbs and delays, and blended acoustic and pickup signals throughout.

This record is named for Fox’s grandson, who was born last June with a congenital heart condition. The opening title track is Fox’s tribute to the boy, who has already fought his way through multiple open heart surgeries. The song is bittersweet, mostly loping arpeggios with a few nice melodic turns. Second track “The Return” begins like an inverted “Layla”, and I mean that in a good way… Fox patiently lays down a sparse melody over a mix of picked and strummed chords, with a memorable melodic transition to the “B” section, and some nice descending notes in the bass. The middle of the song finds the guitarist digging into some down-tuned strumming, resulting in a less interesting, sort of Alice In Chains vibe, before returning to the initial themes.

As the album goes on, Fox mostly repeats the approach of the first two tracks, with only a little variation in tempo and feel. Songs like “Marion”, “Across The Sea”, “The Wisdom of Trees” and closer “Eyes of a Child” all mine the same emotional terrain, with slow, clean picking, and some skeletal melodies buried in the pretty arpeggios.

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