Anyone who has followed this site for any length of time knows
that I’ve been singing the praises of fingerstyle guitarist El
McMeen since I discovered his work courtesy of a compilation disc
released by Rounder. Thanks to my review of those two discs, El and
I have struck up a friendship which has helped to turn me on to
other guitarists of similar quality.
In all journalistic fairness, I probably shouldn’t be the one
reviewing El’s music, since I do consider him a friend. Then again,
sometimes I feel that this gives me more of an insight into what he
tries to do with his music, and I sometimes feel like I can be more
critical than normal, since it’s leveled with an equal dose of
respect.
That all said, I can’t say anything negative about his latest
effort,
Dancing The Strings. A mixture of more modern songs and
traditional Celtic workings, McMeen shows why he is one of the best
guitarists out there, amplification and flash be damned.
Admittedly, I do prefer the more traditional Celtic numbers —
but maybe that’s because that’s what I was first exposed to with
El’s music. Yet I can’t find any flaws in his choices of covers on
this particular disc; of the 14 tracks, there is not a single one
which is a letdown. I learned some time ago that McMeen can take a
song like “Danny Boy” which has been beaten to death by so many
average versions and breathe new life into it with his gentle style
on the acoustic guitar. On
Dancing The Strings, he performs a Frankenstein maneuver on
“The Tennessee Waltz,” taking an old chestnut and lovingly giving
it a new lease on life while respecting the song’s history.
The same can be said for his takes on such Sixties hallmarks as
“Tears Of A Clown” (even if the acoustic guitar can’t quite imitate
the calliope-like opening of the original), “There Is A Rose In
Spanish Harlem” and “Working My Way Back To You.” Even if you grew
up listening to the original versions of these songs, you can’t
help but be awed by McMeen’s performances.
Even a forgotten guilty pleasure like Orleans’s “Still The One”
gets the respectful treatment by McMeen, literally giving this
track a new perspective for a generation who may not know the
original.
I said earlier that I happened to prefer it when McMeen played
the more traditional music — and this does not get shorted on
Dancing The Strings. I defy anyone to try to keep from
dancing a jig when they hear tracks like “The Humors Of
Ballyloughlin” or “The Kid On The Mountain” — yes, kids, the
performances are that good. Likewise, McMeen knows when to turn the
volume down and the intensity up on quieter numbers like “The
Lovers’ Waltz” and “Midnight On The Water.”
The highlight for me, though, is McMeen’s take on “America The
Beautiful” — which I honestly wish he had recorded and released
just after the events of 9/11. I don’t know if it was intentional
or not, but McMeen’s performance of this patriotic standard almost
seems like a dirge for those whom we’ve lost far too soon, be it
from terrorism or from the resulting skirmishes across the globe.
Yet in that mourning, McMeen conveys a new respect for the feeling
of national pride one feels – and, again, takes an old, tired
number and transcends it into something special.
It seems like every time I talk to El of late, he seems to speak
of slowing his pace down, even if it means retiring from the
studio. Yet each disc he releases is a wonderful surprise, and the
talk of slowing down starts up again. I know for fact that El reads
these pages from time to time, so I hope he takes my humble advice
and keeps on releasing discs like
Dancing The Strings. After all, the more he has out there,
the more proof there is that he’s a treasure waiting to be
discovered by the multitude. Here’s hoping that discovery comes
very soon.
