CD Reviews

Tasmania Live

minor7th.com
January 2012

Richard Gilewitz "Tasmania Live," 2011 The irreverent Richard Gilewitz has brought smiles to the faces of his fans again with the release of "Tasmania Live," recorded in that land of the "devil" somewhere in the ocean south of Australia. Listeners will quickly hear the stylings and songs of two of Gilewitz's mentors – John Fahey and Leo Kottke. Fahey came to the island 30 years ago, and Gilewitz pays old John a compliment by playing no less than 3 Fahey songs on the CD. Gilewitz is a true master of fingerstyle guitar, and can play about anything possible on six or twelve strings. The bulk of the material from these two concerts is blues, ragtime, and folk. Mixed between the songs is the natural patter and humor his audiences have come to expect from a Richard Gilewitz show. He plays with grace and power on Jorma Kaukonen's "Embryonic Journey" (sounding a lot like Leo Kottke), while opening the CD with a rollicking version of his own song "Wazamataz." When he's not rolling, Gilewitz slows it down with a lush jazzy version of the Howard Arlen classic "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." You can't hear anything but the guitar, all ears straining to catch each phrase, even as he seamlessly segues into Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." Really lovely playing. He covers the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four" with the cheek it deserves. Gilewitz and his co-producer Tim May end the disc with Kottke's "Jack Fig" – a fine way to go out. Gilewitz is at the top of his game, and the audiences who heard him in Tasmania had a treat.
© Kirk Albrecht