| · A guitar legend keeps it simple.
It would be hard to find a more apt moniker for Alberta-based singer-guitarist Amos Garrett’s first de-electrified album since the 1970s (which is also his first solo album since 1996). Acoustic Album is a mix of reworked traditionals, old classics and modern tunes, with solid backing by renowned musicians like Ken and Chris Whiteley and David Wilkie.
Not all the pieces here quite live up to the all-star lineup – for example, "Sam’s Song" and "I Hate Myself" are fun and show off Garrett and Wilkie’s singing and picking skills, but they get pretty contrived in the spoken breaks. There are some fine tracks here, though, including the bittersweet instrumental "Bailey Hill Requiem," the old-time blues throwback "Grasshoppers In My Pillow," and Hoagy Carmichael’s classic enjoy-your-youth song "Small Fry," which nicely showcases Garrett’s Long John Baldry-esque baritone voice.
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