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Against the Grain

Acoustic Alchemy - Against the Grain Audio CD

A fair review of the Acoustic Alchemy "Against the Grain" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Acoustic Alchemy reviews here, or go back to the Acoustic Alchemy tabs.

Band: Acoustic Alchemy
Title: Against the Grain
Rating:

Release Date: 1994-10-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Against the Grain 2: Lazeez 3: Different Kind of Freedom 4: Lady Lynda 5: Road Dogs 6: Shoot the Loop 7: Across the Golden Gate 8: Papillon 9: Silent Partner 10: Nouveau Tango

"Against the Grain" is Acoustic Alchemy at their Very Best
I had the distinct honor of meeting these two truly humble guys at the Caravan of Dreams in Fort Worth back in 1996, where I had the opportunity to express my admiration for the sheer beauty of their elegant acoustic style together. I am thrilled that Greg Carmichael decided to keep AA alive after the sad passing of his musical partner, the late, great creative genius, Nick Webb (1954-1998). Being a professional tenor player of 20 years myself, I gave them a critique from a musician's POV, including a hard-earned "thumbs up" for their consistently great songwriting and execution skills as an endearing guitar duo -- and Nick and Greg genuinely appreciated the comments on their musicianship.

"Against the Grain" (1994) is the last album released before Nick died of pancreatic cancer -- and, as I told them in 1996, IMHO, it is the FINEST work that AA ever produced. Yet, except for the loyal, appreciative reviewers above, this album has never received the applause and "kudos" it so justly deserves from the usual crowd of ascerbic critics and noisy DJs.

Virtually every song on this album has something unique to offer even the most "unschooled" first-time listener . . . ranging from rhythmic New Age, Smooth Jazz and Nuevo Flamenco beats . . . to gentle, flowing romantic epics that allow your mind to wistfully wander off on a magic carpet ride. It is these wistful, romantic epics that represent, IMHO, the highest peak of Acoustic Alchemy's contribution to modern music.

I recently put together a personal compilation of 15 of the ultimate romantic songs ever played on acoustic guitar: 3 of these came from "Heat of the Sun" by Strunz & Farah (1994), 3 more came from "Andalusian Nights" by Govi (1999), and perhaps the finest 3 came from this album "Against the Grain" -- specifically, "Across the Golden Gate", the mesmerizing "Lady Lynda", and my personal favorite "Silent Partner".

These latter 3 ballads represent the gifted Nick Webb at his romantic finest -- not just for his quietly passionate songwriting, but for his exquisitely gentle solos. For example, his closing solo in "Silent Partner" has the most gentle, romantic passage I've ever heard (at 2:20 ==> 3:00) -- especially, his utterly gorgeous "asynch" descending cascades (at 2:47 ==> 3:00) which have been ringing in my head for 15 years now. No one has ever played such gorgeous, lyrical cascades as these by Nick Webb, before or since.

Needless to say, having listened to all of AA's albums for many years now, I would suggest, if you're buying just one Acoustic Alchemy CD, "Against the Grain" is by far your best choice. Nick Webb may have slipped away from us in 1998 but, thanks to inspired albums like this one, the magic of his romantic guitar will never be forgotten.
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Fabulous
If you like jazz--which Acoustic Alchemy generally isn't--you will want to hear this album, because it's the most jazz-filled AA album except for "This Way" (made 13 years later), and probably the most unique AA album, bar none. This is my favorite Acoustic Alchemy album and, I claim, arguably the best. "Papillon" is one of my favorite jazz pieces, and again, AA isn't even a jazz group. The cheerful "A Different Kind of Freedom" is, according to the notes, influenced by African jazz.
Moving beyond jazz, there is "Shoot the Loop"--a weird, nearly hypnotic tune that was probably the first time AA had ever recorded dance music. The jacket notes, written by co-leader Greg Carmichael, claim that the title track was another attempt at dance music. "Nouveau Tango" is relentlessly upbeat. "Lazeez" is the only AA hit from this album, being featured on best-of collections.

The AA cd I reach for most often
m. Driving home from early Sunday a. water polo practice in Bethesda, I clicked onto a DC radio station that was experimenting with NEW AGE music. Back in 1987, they only played it for a couple of hours each Sunday morning. This is when I first heard Acoustic Alchemy ("Mr. Chow"), and I have been hooked on their sound ever since.

I have all their recordings, and "Against the Grain" is my favorite. Not unlike a rabid Beatles fan, I used to buy their latest CD as soon as it was released. "Reference Point" and "Back on the Case" were so outstanding, I used to believe they will have a hard time topping these works and keeping up the creative momentum.

With "Against the Grain", they proved me wrong. I think I enjoy it the most because, not only did it break new ground for AA, but many of the songs could have easily been from earlier albums. For example, "A Different Kind of Freedom" would have fit nicely into "Blue Chip", and "Road Dogs" sounds as if it was borrowed from "Reference Point". "Lady Lynda" reminds me of those early Sunday mornings in the car back in Maryland.

Some of my favorite tunes on "Against the Grain" include beautiful piano blended in with the acoustic guitars. The title track begins with thunder, transitions to the keyboards, and is met by the dueling guitars. The song races forward with that distinctive AA tempo. "Papillon" also begins with ethereal piano fingerwork as an intro for the waiting guitars. Other great songs include the flamenco based "Lazeez", the march of "Nouveau Tango", and the synth heavy "Shoot the Loop".

Since "Against the Grain", AA has still produced some outstanding music, including tracks from "Positive Thinking" and "The Beautiful Game", but without Nick Webb, the focus of the music has changed. We are all fortunate that they had such a great run for over a decade.

By the way, they are great in concert. Their music is more energetic in person. My wife and I have enjoyed several of their shows in Seattle and in northern California; however, it is just not the same without Nick.

Excellent CD
I love the Latin beat in several of the songs and the entire CD is recorded exceptionally well. This is the 7th Acoustic Alchemy CD that I have purchased and it is possibly my favorite (it is a toss up between this one and Reference Point). Beats todays overly compressed music by a mile. .

Not Up To Par
I have owned this for 10 years and recently dusted it and gave it a few rotations in the CD player since I had not listened to it in some time. Acoustic Alchemy has been one of my favorites since I was first introduced to their music back in the 1980s.
Against the Grain is a decent CD, but when you stack it up against what the boys had done in the past, it is simply not up to par. There ARE some good songs here, but the CD as a whole just doesn't meet my expectations for the group.
I like the excellent title cut, the Latin-inflected Lazeez which is easily the strongest piece, the languid Silent Partner and Nouveau Tango. Across the Golden Gate and Papillon have their charms, but the rest of the CD is just plain weak. A Different Kind of Freedom, stated in the liner notes to be an "African" piece sounds rather like some bad Brazilian jazz.
Though the music overall is not as good as I had hoped for, the CD is mellow and made for listening on a laid-back day. If you are a huge fan of Acoustic Alchemy, you may love this regardless of what I've written but if you are new to the group you may want to start with one of their earlier works like Back On the Case and come back to this once you've learned what Greg Carmichael and Nick Webb can do when they really want to.

You can see a complete list of all Acoustic Alchemy discography, or go back to the Acoustic Alchemy tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.