Buckethead...an acoustic guitar...and a living room. That's what you get here on Acoustic Shards, recordings of a young virtuoso and his Guild D-40C taken from July 2nd & 3rd, 1991. Recorded and produced by Jas Obrecht, these are 15 pretty intimate pieces, all taped in real time with no overdubs, and if you are a fan of Buckethead you can hear snippets of passages that later worked themselves into other popular songs in his repertoire. Much of what you hear on Acoustic Shards are just that, shards, yet fairly gorgeous shards for that matter. Even as far back as 1991, this guy had some kind of technique, gently caressing his guitar and offering up one sumptuous melody after another ("Ed's Rhapsody / Midnight Dance / Jars" being a perfect example), as if the musical ideas were just pouring out of him. Considering that most of these pieces are probably improvisations makes it all the more fascinating, as much of what you will hear on this CD (other than the occasional jam like "Spirals" or "Ganryu Island / Saskia's Gone") sound like fully worked out songs. At times he sounds like a modern day version of Django Reinhardt ("Cubes, Chunks & Crumbles") or Robert Johnson after being exposed to rock 'n'roll & flamenco ("Thugs"), but for the most part his mixing of classical, rock, blues, and flamenco drips through each of these tracks. There's no better vehicle for his vast arsenal than the near 11-minute "Longing", a truly lush number that not only displays his technical mastery of the instrument but also his keen sense of melody. For a different side to the warped musical persona of Buckethead, give Acoustic Shards a listen, and hear what a well rounded musician he really is.
Track Listing
1. For Mom - (Early Version)
2. Little Gracie
3. Who Me? - (Early Version)
4. Ed's Rhapsody / Midnight Dance / Jars
5. Ganryu Island / Saskia's Gone
6. Ghosts Upstairs
7. Spirals
8. Cubes, Chunks & Crumbles
9. Thugs
10. Dinging / Ah-Ji-Jee
11. Johnny
12. Stay Out Of the Shed
13. Serape
14. Longing
15. Box Elders
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