Well that's a bold claim; when you make a statement
like 'the world's greatest guitar' then there's a lot to live up to. The back
cover doesn't shy away from the bold claims either - 'Folks down around
Texarkana way say "Give ole Lightnin' red anything with strings on it an' he'll
sure as hell play it. His full artistry comes from the incredible speed of his
fingering'. After trumpeting that little lot you've got to put up or shut up
when you strap that guitar on or else choke on your own hubris, but after ploughing
through all this it'll probably come as a surprise to no one that, on
the evidence on display here, Mr Red isn't the greatest guitar player around. Or
the fastest. Not even close.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting some Steve Vai-alike shredding off the man, but the playing on this doesn't even try to be fast. Or even quick really. The best you can say is that it's competent, but there's nothing here that a seasoned player from any well gigged pub covers band wouldn't be able to pull off. The tracklist is a bit of a curates egg too, a mix of country standards ('Orange Blossom Special', 'Wreck Of The Old '97') and random 50's rock and roll instrumentals ('Tequila', 'Guitar Boogie'). But then '12th Street Rag' and 'Yakety Yak' could have been chosen solely as plum vehicles for Mr Red to show off his chops with some crazy flipper finger fretwork, but every single tune shows a man content to plod through the main melody in a good ol' boy country fingerpicking style that never gets out of first gear. Sometimes he uses a wah wah pedal, sometimes he doesn't, but anything approaching 'artistry' is in short supply.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting some Steve Vai-alike shredding off the man, but the playing on this doesn't even try to be fast. Or even quick really. The best you can say is that it's competent, but there's nothing here that a seasoned player from any well gigged pub covers band wouldn't be able to pull off. The tracklist is a bit of a curates egg too, a mix of country standards ('Orange Blossom Special', 'Wreck Of The Old '97') and random 50's rock and roll instrumentals ('Tequila', 'Guitar Boogie'). But then '12th Street Rag' and 'Yakety Yak' could have been chosen solely as plum vehicles for Mr Red to show off his chops with some crazy flipper finger fretwork, but every single tune shows a man content to plod through the main melody in a good ol' boy country fingerpicking style that never gets out of first gear. Sometimes he uses a wah wah pedal, sometimes he doesn't, but anything approaching 'artistry' is in short supply.
Almost as if realising the sheer ordinariness of
what's inside it, the cover shot goes straight for the lowest common
denominator; a woman with an expression I can't read who's either wearing an
incredibly flimsy, incredibly high thong or else is flaunting the fact she's
completely pant free and aiming a guitar neck straight up her crotch.
Personally, after being badly let down by his bragging, I'd prefer it if it were
shoved straight up ole Lightnin's arse.
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