156 Strings - a compilation that showcases 19 acoustic guitar pieces by players both well-known (Mike Keneally, Fred Firth, Scott McGill, Richard Thompson) and lesser-known (Steffen Basho-Junghans, U Tin, Gyan Riley) - is a mostly quiet and reflective album that tempts to lure listeners into each player's personal psyche. The brainchild of guitarist and producer Henry Kaiser (Herbie Hancock, Jerry Garcia), 156 Strings boasts music so intimate, so spontaneous, that the strings also often become the voice.
Janet Feder's "Lightning Strikes" resounds with grinding feedback and is among the album's most experimental pieces, as is "Kaleidoscopic Sunday," during which Rod Poole actually makes his guitar sound like a wall of percussion. Elsewhere, Nels Cline's "Runaway" is practically melody-free, while Michael Gulezian's "Excerpt from 'Plook the Asbestos Lobster'" swirls with pleasant soundscapes.
Keiser required each artist to record their track specifically for this compilation, and he insisted on no overdubs - making these songs a true expression of each guitarist. Keiser cites in the liner notes such American steel-string players as Leo Kottke, John Fahey and Robbie Basho as the inspiration for this project (to which Keiser, incidentally, also contributes a track), and he intentionally makes "no distinction between musical genres and forms - this is just about folks and their guitars." And that, my friends, sums up 156 Strings much better than I ever could.
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