Adrian Legg, Waiting for a Dancer. The guitar is the most versatile instrument in the world, and nobody demonstrates this better than Adrian Legg. His first release on Red House contains 11 instrumentals culled from a bouillabaisse of influences--classical, bluegrass, Celtic folk, jazz, and rock. Fans familiar with his polyglot style will recognize the signature chops: the tuning peg slides ("Kalahari Blues"), ethereal harmonics ("Bayou Belles"), airy chord voicings ("L'Amour Manqué"), and swirling arpeggios ("Carolina Sunday Waltz"). But while the technique is often a surprise, it's never a distraction. (Red House, PO Box 4044, St. Paul, MN 55104)
--Steve Boisson
Riders in the Sky, Public Cowboy #1. Perhaps the best testament to Gene Autry's greatness is that it takes all three members of Riders in the Sky to conjure his magic on this tribute album. The Riders (with Joey the Cowpolka King on accordion) deliver an even dozen of the master's songs, mixing sentimental favorites like "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine" with western standards like "Back in the Saddle Again." On this ride, the trio leaves the jokes in the bunkhouse and sings these classic songs straight, emphasizing their impeccable harmonies. (Rounder)
--Michael Simmons
Robin Kessinger. Music runs in families, and the Kessinger clan carries a powerful genetic code for great musicianship that runs back to Clark Kessinger, one of the big guns of old-time fiddling. Robin, a former winner of the National Flatpicking Guitar Championships at Winfield, Kansas, has combined two older cassette releases into a 24-song CD that abounds with exceptional acoustic guitar music. Kessinger's ear for melody allows him to play everything from straight bluegrass ("Arkansas Traveler") to pure Celtic ("Shebeg An She Mor/March of King Laois") to traditional Greek and African melodies with passion and authority. (JMP, PO Box 152, St. Albans, WV 25177)
--David McCarty
Karan Casey, Songlines. This collection of traditional Celtic songs from the lead singer of Solas features backup instrumentation by two other members of the band: Seamus Egan (who also produced) on tin whistle, flute, and bodhran, and John Doyle on guitar. While there are fewer of the energetic numbers that make the Solas album great, the focus here is on the vocals, and Casey sings like an angel. Standout tracks include "Roger the Miller" ("who once came a-courting Kate's father's gray mare"), the driving "Ballad of Accounting" by Scots singer Ewan MacColl, and the upbeat, feminist "Martinmas Time." (Shanachie)
--Simone Solondz
Peter Keane, Walkin' Around. Keane is a rootsy, laconic songwriter with a warm voice and a respect for tradition. Good cover choices include a cello-enhanced version of Dylan's "I Want You" and a stirring rendition of Mississippi John Hurt's "If You Don't Want Me." But the best moments occur on the originals, tunes bracketed by Keane's tasty, in-the-pocket fingerstyle guitar. Songs like the Jimmie Rodgers&endash;flavored "Dirty Deal Blues" and the lilting "Tylersville Road" show Keane's ability to craft simple, direct statements that dance in your head for days. (Flying Fish/Rounder)
--Steve Boisson
Janet Feder, ICYIMI. A gutsy mix of classical, steel-string, and prepared nylon-strung guitar, ICYIMI is recorded dry with no overdubs. The solo prepared guitar pieces, an original triad entitled "Ready," sound like a small ensemble that includes steel drum, marimba, fretless bass, and percussion. Feder also plays Villa-Lobos' Prelude #3 with sincerity; sings interesting original songs, like "Oh, Cowboy" about a woman whose cowboy wants her to be "his very next wife"; and presents intense instrumentals, such as "When I Sleep," which melds extended arpeggios with beautiful melodic tremolo. This is a unique, engaging recording. (Brainbox, PO Box 480414, Denver, CO 80248)
--Harry Fleishman
Special Consensus, Strong Enough to Bend. Chicago-based bluegrassers Special Consensus, led by banjo great Greg Cahill, have earned a loyal following with their top-quality music. This CD may be their best ever. It incorporates straight bluegrass, swing, and contemporary tunes, like Nanci Griffith's "Outbound Plane" and the title track, into a totally entertaining package. Cahill's banjo work is always on the mark, and new members Colby Maddox on mandolin and Bobby Burns on guitar add instrumental firepower. (Pinecastle, PO Box 456, Orlando, FL 32802)
--David McCarty
Stephen Bennett, Pictures. Fingerstyle guitarist Stephen Bennett strives to convey images and impressions, with mostly pleasing results. Selections such as "Cornwall," "The Forest Floor," and "Karl and August" are ponderous and meandering, whereas "Linda's Garden," "Life's Too Short," and "6 A.M." are more tightly knit and tuneful. Bennett renders a compelling landscape of the soul with his "Suite for Slavomir," a portfolio of five pieces embellished with percussion, violin, and mandolin that at times resembles the acoustic fusion of Oregon and at other times the cerebral fantasies of Steve Tibbetts. Bennett also offers several nonoriginal pieces, including Scott Joplin's "The Easy Winners" and the Irish classic "The Star of the County Down," on which his guitar work is particularly biting and crisp. (Cimirron/Rainbird, 607 Piney Point Rd., Yorktown, VA 23692)
--Jim Ohlschmidt
Kick at Heaven, Live at Sun Mountain. Back in the bygone days when Greenwich Village boasted scores of folk clubs, one might not have been surprised to chance upon a duo as vibrant as Kick at Heaven. This fine live album, recorded at a folk club that is now a footnote to Village history, features the well-matched team of Steve Uhler and Jean Synodinos combining energetically on vocals and twin guitars to make sharp, savvy acoustic music that would be at home in any room, folk boom or bust. (Found Dog Productions, 85 Apache Ridge Rd., Santa Fe, NM 87505)
--Roger Deitz
Bobby Lee Rodgers and the Herd, Water Buffalo. This entertaining, musically satisfying first release from Bobby Lee Rodgers generates a groove that just won't quit. Rodgers plays acoustic and electric guitars as well as mandolin and banjo, and he also sings lead vocals on tunes that run the gambit from bluegrass, blues, funk, and jazz to haunting ballads. The Herd (made up of acoustic bass, keyboards, and drums) follows Rodgers wherever he goes, underscoring the songs--like the earthy, funk hoedown "The River" and the lush, melodic "Can You See Me"--with a controlled energy that could light up a major city for a month. (ZC, Kenmore Station, PO Box 15366, Boston, MA 02215)
--Charles Chapman
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