Published on Feb 22, 2000
It is not unusual for me to get several e-mails a day asking me
to review bands – usually these come from groups who are looking to
get their names in print to help move them to the next step in
their careers. While I’m always happy to do this, it’s impossible
to respond to every request, and with the work schedule I now have,
it’s even harder for me to fit in all the discs I want to listen to
and review.
So when I first saw I had an e-mail from El McMeen, I didn’t
think too much of it. When I finally got to it a few hours after it
arrived, McMeen reminded me just who he was… and at that point,
there was no way I’d refuse the request to review his latest disc,
El McMeen Live.
You see, some months ago I had the privilege of listening to and
reviewing two discs of Celtic fingerstyle guitar music that were
released by Rounder; they’re two volumes I highly suggest you rush
out and buy if you like to hear masters of their craft. McMeen was
one of the featured musicians on the set who knew how to breathe
new life into such standards as “O Danny Boy,” making them sound
like it was the first time you’d ever heard the song.
This disc does more of the same – and then some. Recorded in an
intimate setting – almost as if it was recorded amongst friends,
McMeen sounds totally at ease as he explains in detail background
on the music he selected for the evening as well as sharing some
humor with the crowd.
McMeen continues to show why he’s one of the world’s finest
fingerstyle guitarists with some of the Celtic-influenced songs
performed on
El McMeen Live. Songs like “Pretty Maid Milking A Cow,” “Mo
Giolla Mear” and “Be Thou My Vision / Hyfrydol” all demonstrate
McMeen’s power using only six metal strings and a shaped piece of
wood, and his ability to make the instrument sing like no other
voice you’ve ever heard.
But McMeen also broadens his horizons past what even I would
have expected. He launches into a cover of The Eagles’s “Desperado”
that is so close to the bone that it might even make you forget
about the original for a few minutes. It’s almost as if the song
has been waiting for this kind of a translation. The same goes for
an older folk song, “Guantanamera,” which I grew up hearing as
elevator music and grew to hate. However, McMeen actually made me
interested in this song again – and if you knew how strongly I feel
about this particular number, you’d know that’s no small feat.
McMeen’s humor is interspersed within his playing, as evidenced
by “The Saga Of ‘Doo-Dah'”. The central theme is the old folk song
“Camptown Races,” but McMeen tells how he tried to continue playing
a song his wife was tired of hearing by juxtaposing it into several
different styles. On one side, it’s a hilarious piece as McMeen is
foiled in every attempt to keep playing “Doo-Dah” as his wife
recognizes the song hidden in the new arrangement. (Memo to McMeen:
I caught the “Al-Di-La” sample you put in the last “Doo-Dah”
arrangement; that’s the benefit of growing up with my parents
listening to the Ray Charles Singers.) On the other hand, McMeen
makes the style switches sound so effortless that it makes me want
to smash my guitars, knowing I’ll never be that good.
McMeen closes this disc with a vocal rendition of “What A
Wonderful World” (the Sam Cooke version, not Louis Armstrong),
making me wonder why he hasn’t done more work in the vocal
department. It’s a fitting way to wrap up an incredible disc.
Complaints? I have but two. First, the obvious – if I could
have, I’d have crammed as much music as a CD can hold onto this
thing. No matter how many times I’ve listened to
El McMeen Live, I keep finding myself wanting to hear more.
The other minor note is occasionally I heard a change in audio
quality when going from spoken introduction to McMeen’s
performances – almost as if he snipped an intro from one day to a
performance from another. Still, this is a minor point.
I lent this disc to someone, and they came back to me asking
where they could buy more of McMeen’s music. That’s not an uncommon
reaction when you hear someone so good performing music so
beautiful.
El McMeen Live proves that he belongs in the list of best
guitarists alive today – and it makes me wonder how long it will be
before McMeen becomes a household name.