Lyrical Guitar

Track Listings

1. Spanish Cafe

2. Canon in D

3. Kemp's Jig

4. Belle Etude

5. Nocturne

6. Spanish Romance

7. Zorba Stew

8. Be Thou My Vision

9. Winter Nocturne

10. Searching for Alexandre

11. El Noy de la Mare

12. Romance de los Pinos

13. Sleepers Awake

14. Minuet in G

15. Honey on my Fingers

16. Allegretto

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
A beautiful and expressive collection of solos and duets performed fingerstyle on nylon string guitar. Features original compositions and some of the best loved standards of the classical guitar genre.

Tracks:

She's The Girl
It's Not Love
Forgiveness
I Will Not Be Afraid
It's Only My Heart
Promised Land
Don't You Know
Never Had To Ask
Haertbeat Away
How Much Rain
Let It Go

Customer Reviews:

It's About Values, a fan review for "Don't You Know" .......2005-11-05

You live your life, day-to-day. Sometimes it's not easy and sometimes it's easier. You can go on for a very long time, just putting one foot in front of the other, your head down to the elements, just to survive and keep the people and things in your life who/that mean the most to you. But sometimes it gets really difficult. Sometimes we need inspiration. That's where the music comes in.

This CD - and, I'm discovering, most of the music composed in partnership by John Batdorf and Michael McLean - is about values, morals and ethics, accentuating the `good' in life; an all-encompassing value I can get along with.

I've said once before, in another review, that I am a lyrics fiend. I will be predisposed to liking a song if I read the lyrics and they go along with either my beliefs or my values or hit a chord from something in my life that rings true. It's the lyrics that draw me in. A song can be pretty as all get out, but if the words suck? You won't hear/see me wasting my time with it.

Sometimes you'll hear a lyric that will just be so brilliant that you can't help but note and remember it. Such is the case with the song that starts off this CD, "She's the Girl". Whoever was lucky enough to have this song written for her, wow, okay? The lyrics in here are lovely and my especial favorite is "she's the brush strokes in every Monet" ... being a Monet fan and having been to the gardens that inspired his brushstrokes, well ... what a high compliment.

The brilliant lyrics don't stop here. No, they keep going all throughout the CD, song by song, and that's one of the things that make 'Don't You Know' one of my newest favorites.

There's something about this CD that tells me that you can't "get it" with regard to the emotions and values put forth here unless you've lived some. To back up this thought is the second song, "It's Not Love", which isn't something you're going to really understand unless you'd been there and done that and made it last. It just makes sense. Infatuation, lust, and other possible beginnings to a relationship just don't become real love until the two of you have been at the starting line, run the race, stumbled, fallen and helped each other up and strove to finish the race together.

And then comes "Forgiveness" and here comes another value that may be difficult for many of us, including myself. This is a pretty awesome song and I often wonder about its origins; however, it's fairly generalized. Like I said at the beginning of this paragraph, forgiveness is one of the hardest things to conquer. I have a fence or two in my own background that never really got mended and may never get that repair in the traditional sense. Sometimes, though, you just have to walk away and let it go (but that's another song ... funnily enough, on this very CD!).

After which comes "I Will Not Be Afraid" which now ranks up there with my top favorite songs of all time. When I first heard the song and then bought the CD it became a very big help to me at the time. It remains my belief that certain songs come into your life exactly when you need them and that's what happened with this one. I think I may have worn this track thin. The other impressive thing about this song is that I have noticed that it is on all three available Batdorf and McLean CD's, and John almost always plays it during his live solo spots.

Walking away after you've had your heart broken has never - in my experience - been defined so well in a song until I heard "It's Only My Heart". In my experience, however, I have tended to be the heartbreaker. Which doesn't make the experience any easier; it still hurts, either way. There was one instance that has affected my entire life afterwards. And when I remember how hard it was for him ... I can listen to this song now and understand what he went through. At the same time, I can hear this song from either direction, and understand the pain.

"Promised Land". This is the only song on this CD that skates a little too close to things I'd rather not discuss in public. My promised land is probably a whole helluva lot different from yours. However, the song does address this in sort of an abstract fashion. It's personal. It's inside you. There's no address. You don't have to go to a concrete building and hobnob with costumes and ancient rituals to find it. And that's all I'm going to say about that (because I've probably already said too much already).

"Don't You Know", "Never Had to Ask", and "Heartbeat Away" are three songs that have held up my writing of this review and I realized that it's because I like to listen to them but they're less meaningful to me at the moment than the other songs herein. They're experiences I haven't been close to in a while, so the songs kind of fall across me like mild water until I get to the ones that mean a lot to me.

"How Much Rain". This song comes as close to sarcasm as I've ever heard from John. However, I like it a lot, and it probably defines why the previous three songs don't really make that much of a difference for me right now. For the past 25-odd years I've approached life from a business- and caretaker- perspective. It feels right to me if I'm taking care of my friends and, in reverse, when those people that I count as friends have made a difference for me. But for anyone to try and go deeper than that - well, that's where this song comes in - no one can count that high, no one can go that deep, and no one should even try.

"Let It Go" is the final song on this CD and what a wrap-up to a whole boatload of emotions and inspiration. It does my soul good to know that something that came hard won to me after many years of guilt and soul-searching, is not the mistake that people outside of the experience always told me it was. Sometimes you just have to forgive yourself and then you just have to have the courage to walk away. Forgiveness is not necessarily the same as letting it go; but when you finally do allow yourself the freedom to let go, no matter how painful, you can move forward with your life. Oh, yeah, I've been there once or twice, and learned from it. So it's soul-satisfying to hear "Let It Go" now from musicians I truly respect because it just reinforces something I learned the hard way.

John's voice blows me away. Seriously. It's sort of rough and tumble in a way, slightly reminiscent of singers like Bryan Adams and Don Henley, but with a quality, resonance, and timbre all its own. He sings every song as if he believes in the words he's singing and I have no reason to think that he doesn't. This is not a dishonest person, or an actor singing songs meant to get to you but without feeling behind it. I just think that John and Michael write songs they believe in and John sings them the very same way. Not only does that honesty come across, but it also makes the songs even more inspirational. It makes me want to stop and listen carefully to what's being said.

And then comes the music itself. I think it's important for a song to have a melody that's fairly catchy in order for it to have life beyond the initial writing of it. I can love the lyrics all I want, but if the song as a whole doesn't impress me, then I won't listen to it as often. I can't think of one song, yet, of John and Michael's, that I don't like - it's just that there are some songs that speak more to me and my personal experience than others. I have a lot of CD's and there are specific single pieces of music I listen to when I need to (among them are songs by CSN, Judy Collins, Amanda Marshall, Melissa Etheridge, and Jim Byrnes), things that work well on long drives (Jeff Beck, Jan Hammer, Talking Heads, Indigo Girls, Yes, Genesis, and Van Halen come to mind), and otherwise. There are musicians who are pure perfection in their words and how they stretch their voice and in the execution of their created music. I love bluesy music and bluegrass and some jazz, but none of these have constant staying power for me. None (well, there is one other but his first CD is still forthcoming) till now have come this close to something meaningful to my life - something I can listen to all of the tracks of and get reinforcement from while enjoying the melodies and the voice and the lyrics all at the same time. This is music that will never get old.

I've only heard one other CD of late that comes as close as this one to being a constant favorite of mine. That's one that recently became available, also from John and Michael: 'Batdorf and McLean: The Early Years'. But that's a whole `nuther review (to come).

Don't You Know.......2003-02-14

This CD has great acoustic guitar work and a familiar voice, if you're a fan of Batdorf & Rodney's earlier music. I long to hear B&R's earliest recordings again on CD format. The album is a great acoustical recording with sincere lyrics written by John Batdorf & Michael McLean. McLean adds much to the finished work with his vocals and keyboard additions. This is a polished recording worth a listening too.

Good But It's Not Batdorf&Rodney !!!!.......2002-02-02

This CD has a lot of good music and is worth adding to the collection,But it cannot compete with the Batdorf&Rodney albums from the 70's.Those three albums that Batdorf&Rodney made back then are great and the music is timeless.With all the Batdorf&Rodney fans that are still around and with the potential of adding new fans to the mix,You would think that someone would release all three of Batdorf&Rodneys albums on quality mastered CD,s

Missing the energy.......2000-02-01

I am as excited about seeing John Batdorf's name on anything musical as one can be. The first two Batdorf & Rodney discs rank with the best I own, even after 20 some years. However, this CD lacks the energy and sheer musical joy that we came to know through B & R. No good vocal or music solos, no virtuoso guitar work and the harmonies are bland. Not to take anything away from Mr. McLean - if he had a hand in getting John back to the spotlight, great! And this isn't a bad CD. Love is still the message and the lyrics are pretty good. But until someone has the good sense to put Batdorf & Rodney's music on CD, we'll never have the joy of hearing "Can You See Him", "You Are the One", "Is it Love" or a dozen other B & R classics in the digital format. Their combined energy was almost mystical. They had the unique talent of making acoustic music sound positively electric! Having said that, this CD gives us glimpses of how good John Batdorf sounds. Make more music, John! How about a CD in 2000.

You guys are right!.......1999-10-09

I am absolutely amazed to see there are other Batdorf & Rodney fans out there. I thought I was the only one. I saw them several times, at the Troubador and the Golden Bear in HB. Two guys and two Martins. I still play their stuff when I get my guitar out. You can find their records at "Recycled Records" in Reno, Nv. Contact me if you want me to check it out for you!

Average customer rating:

Record Label's Intro

Up & Down

Manufacturer: Wildplum Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Africa | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAEKBS
Release Date: 2004-09-14

Customer Reviews:

Record Label's Intro .......2005-12-22

West African palm wine music and American folk and blues all come together to make up the mellow rhythmic sound of the Palm Wine Boys. Palm wine music is West African roots music. Like folk and blues, the roots music of North America, it is the music of the township and village; "an expression of the day-to-day life of ordinary people, the music of their hearts. It tells of their joys, their sorrows, their pleasures and their displeasures" said the late S.E. Rogie, one of the great innovators of the genre. The Palm Wine Boys fuse the lyrical sensibilities of folk and blues with the guitar lines and rhythms of palm wine music to create a new form. They play innovative world roots music.

"Up & Down" will remind many of early highlife or acoustic calypso with its lilting melodies, irresistible bouncy rhythms, and playful lyrics. On the playful side, there's the opening lines of the title track: "Oh my lover she's like a hollow tree, you find comfort in the shade, even through its full of bees." Being folk music, it has a serious side also. For example, "Its Important", which Richard Linley, the band's primary writer, sang at his mother's funeral: "for all those who have come before us, they are the stepping stones on which we stand, they are the one who cleared the path through the forest, and its important to remember them."
The new CD features four part harmonies, the dual intertwining guitars of palm wine music, strong bass lines, occasional flute, and various African hand percussion throughout.

Average customer rating:

You will fall fast
Freshest Sound In Years
Absolutely magical, lush, and innovative sounds

Turning Point
Daysahead
Manufacturer: Days Ahead
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | R&B | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000CAFVCK
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Tracks:

You Move Me
Love Is Love
Falling Flower
For The Love
Good Ole' Days
It's In Your Hands
Days Ahead
Take Your Time
Don't Fall Too Fast
Courting A Fantasy

Customer Reviews:

You will fall fast.......2007-06-01

This group is awesome to listen to live and or via recording. I have had the pleasure of experiencing both. Their sound is eclectic, but if I were to give it a title it would be jazz fusion.

I picked up a sample CD in a {ATL} Little Five Points Starbucks and fell in love with the cut "Don't Fall Too Fast." I bought the CD and found every cut as enjoyable. "Don't Fall Too Fast" is part of the soundtrack for the book, "Ghettoway Weekend." Ghettoway Weekend

Freshest Sound In Years.......2006-12-09

From start to finish this band is awesome. Steve Wright's guitar has all of the range from Metheny to Santana to Page and Hendrix. Kim Leachman's voice is one of the purest and most grabbing voice since Phyllis Hyman. SHe has the range to sing Jazz to Gospel and Rock! The songs are not filler at all.
"You Move Me" is a tour de force- The tension and release are gripping. "Falling Flower" has such great rhythms. "Good Ole' Days" is the song of reminisence. This is not an album for those who want commercial ditties! If you like music the way it was made in the '70's- This is for you: Sounding like a live recording, written, recorded and produced by the band.
GET THIS ALBUM!!!

Absolutely magical, lush, and innovative sounds.......2006-08-11

After hearing this band, you'll want to book the next flight to Atlanta.

This quartet is a breath of fresh air, blending Jazz, Neo soul, rock, R & B, and other more esoteric influences together to create a sound they call "Jazz -n- roll", but you'll call it "amazing".

Kim Leachman's silky, intimate vocals dovetail beautifully into Steve Wright's stirring ballads, yet soars with power on the album's more uptempo arrangements.

You need only listen to tracks like "You Move Me" and "Good Ole Days" to understand that you have discovered an incredible musical treasure in Days Ahead.

Average customer rating:

Incredible
Pretty Hip, Not Typical

A Few Dozen
Bruce Arnold
Manufacturer: Muse-Eek Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

My Music: Explorations in the Application of 12 Tone Techniques to Jazz Composition and Improvisation
Blue Eleven
Fanatic's Guide to Sight Singing and Ear Training Volume One

ASIN: B00003O9J7
Release Date: 2000-01-10

Tracks:

A Few Dozen
Reflection
7th Street
Numbers Prelude
Numbers
Broadway Y2K
Dialog

Album Description

On his latest CD, "A Few Dozen" (MSK112), guitarist and composer Bruce Arnold presents a tightly knit set of tracks based on twentieth century classical structures, that run from upbeat swing to lyrical ballads to rumba clave. In addition, the music is enriched by electronic sounds which create atmosphere and orchestral density. In on the fun and rounding out the trio are Ratzo B. Harris on acoustic bass and Tony Moreno on percussion and drums. Arnold writes, "The more I listened to the works of various masters, the more I felt that the elements they were working with could refresh and expand the possibilities of jazz."

Customer Reviews:

Incredible.......2000-08-23

I am so glad I got this CD. It is rare to hear Jazz go in a new direction. The compositional vision on this recording is revolutionary. Fans of Andrew Hill, Mcoy Tyner, Steve Topping and Bartok would love this CD.

Pretty Hip, Not Typical.......2000-01-27

The Bruce Arnold Trio proves that creativity over "commercial bliss" produces great music. If you dig the Clusone Trio, Scofield and Frisell, you'll dig this CD. All the tracks are strong, especially "Dialog", "7th Street" and "A Few Dozen"

Average customer rating:

Lyrical and Virtuosic Guitar Music

Manufacturer: Hanssler Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000JMZB
Release Date: 1999-06-29

Tracks:

Allegretto
Lento
Rondo
Walking On The Water
Invocation Et Danse
Second Movement From The Guitar Concerto
Introduccion
Forreando, Caprichoso
Fandango
Passacaglia
Zapateado

Average customer rating:

Midwest Dreams
Jerry Krahn
Manufacturer: Heartdance Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Smooth Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAJUFE
Release Date: 2005-03-01

Average customer rating:

Leni Stern ~ Recommended

Black Guitar
Leni Stern
Manufacturer: Leni Stern
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Modern Postbebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000JWBC
Release Date: 1999-08-24

Tracks:

Can Joe Cocker
Chinatown Revisited
Mary Magdalene
City Sing for Me
Sandbox
Mercy in the Night
Jesse
So Good to You
Black Guitar
Lynda
One Day
Ghost Money
Why's Your Skin So White
Silver Line

Customer Reviews:

Leni Stern ~ Recommended.......2001-12-12

A must listen; not what one expects. Leni Stern is known for guitar, however this music with vocals holds one close for revisits to nice lyrics & vocals. A surprise.

Average customer rating:

Warm and Musical

Resonance

Manufacturer: Focus Recordings
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Classical | Indie Music | Stores | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0007OCYBC
Release Date: 2005-01-31

Tracks:

Mario Davidovsky- Synchronisms #10 for guitar and electronic sounds
Nils Vigeland- La Folia Variants- I. Cadenza
Nils Vigeland- La Folia Variants- II. Sonata
Nils Vigeland- La Folia Variants- III. Dances
Elliott Carter- Shard
Soonjung Suh- Garak
Judah Adashi- Meditation- I. Requiem- For Fallen Artists
Judah Adashi- Meditation- II. Paris- Wanderjahr Revisited
Judah Adashi- Meditation- III. The Stranger: Cosmic Loneliness
Peter Gilbert- Ricochet

Album Description

Resonance is an exploration of the acoustical and emotional resonance of the sound of the guitar within the context of new music. The album is a collection of contemporary solo guitar music and electro-acoustic pieces (works for guitar and pre-recorded electronic sounds). The CD includes four premiere recordings by composers Nils Vigeland, Soonjung Suh, Judah Adashi, and Peter Gilbert, and versions of two seminal works from the contemporary repertoire by Mario Davidovsky and Elliott Carter. Guitarist Daniel Lippel has received critical acclaim for performances of both contemporary and standard repertoire.

Customer Reviews:

Warm and Musical.......2005-03-06

Daniel Lippel's second release on the Focus label is a wonderful album that, although somewhat skewed towards Modernist aesthetics, provides an excellent overview of the wealth of classical guitar music presently being written in the United States. The playing is uniformly excellent and Mr. Lippel is able to bring a shining musicality and much welcome warmth to composers such as Davidovsky and Carter whose performances have all too often favored a strident astringency of interpretation. Also impressive is the great tonal variety Mr. Lippel is able to coax from his instrument.

What distinguishes this album however is the care and forethought that went into its compilation. The album is framed by pieces that pair the guitar with electronics and generally moves from older to newer music. The result feels like a coherent musical journey instead of the bric-a-brac feeling of so many other instrumental collections. For me, the two standout moments on the disc are Nils Vigeland's Sonata (the second movement of La Folia Variants) and Soonjung Suh's Garak. The latter seems tailor-made to Mr. Lippel's aforementioned timbral virtuosity, while the former possessed some absolutely ravishing harmonies. In conclusion, Resonance is a top-notch effort that should appeal to both contemporary music fans and more general admirers of the classical guitar repetiore.

Average customer rating:

In The Machine
Ballurio
Manufacturer: Eigg Island Sound
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music

Rock | Alternative Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00007BK3W
Release Date: 2002-10-27

Tracks:

Critical Mass
In The Machine
Swing Shift
Action Figures
Shedding My Skin
Rare Earth
Metallic Salad
Mise En Scenes
Dragonfly

Album Description

Ballurio's latest CD, In the Machine, offers a glimpse of the modern world through the eyes of a talented guitarist and songwriter. In the Machine's edgy instrumental perspective on man and humanity encompasses many genres of music making use of the sounds of modern life and the emotions they engender. From the first track of this instrumental guitar CD, Ballurio assaults you with driving rhythms and infectious guitar rifts, leading you through a world that is familiar and yet somehow alien. On In the Machine, each song is orchestrated to unfold layers of sound, delivering captivating and haunting melodies wrapped in heavy guitar fretwork, bass and drums. This CD can be best described as "harmonious yet edgy delivering great guitar work combined with strong song writing."

Average customer rating:

Beware of Doug
Doug Clarke
Manufacturer: Ratamacue
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAEX6U
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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Jazz Music jazz-music-18

1. Spanish Cafe
2. Canon in D
3. Kemp's Jig
4. Belle Etude
5. Nocturne
6. Spanish Romance
7. Zorba Stew
8. Be Thou My Vision
9. Winter Nocturne
10. Searching for Alexandre
11. El Noy de la Mare
12. Romance de los Pinos
13. Sleepers Awake
14. Minuet in G
15. Honey on my Fingers
16. Allegretto