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Acoustic Alchemy - This Way Audio CD

A fair review of the Acoustic Alchemy "This Way" 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.

Acoustic Alchemy Band: Acoustic Alchemy
Title: This Way
Rating:
Release Date: 2007-06-05
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Love Is All There Is 2: Ernie 3: Who Knows 4: Slampop 5: Out of Nowhere 6: This Way 7: Tied Up with String 8: Only in My Dreams 9: Carlos the King 10: Egg 11: Now I'm on My Way

It is actually great!
I have about 8 of their CDs and this is as good as anyone. Hi there!
I thought for sure that this was gonna get all 5 star reviews because this CD sure is one of their best releases. Me and my wife both love it and play it often. It holds repeated play very well ;-)

Sure, they they are stretching out a bit more and maybe less "acoustic" but who cares when they add soundscapes of Metheny caliber and mix it with very clever and haunting melodies.

Love it!!.


Solid AA album - grows on you
(I've heard every studio album except American/English). When I first bought this album (and also went to its tour stop in Phoenix) in 2007, I didn't like it as much as Acoustic Alchemy's other albums. But it grew on me, and I now think it's quite good--better than AArt and possibly as good as The Beautiful Game, the first post-Webb album. My favorite tracks are the title track--an eerie, crying piece; Carlos the King, a jazzy piece that is named after Carlos Santana because Greg Carmichael and Miles Gilderdale are fans of his; and the breezy Out of Nowhere. The only bad tracks are "Egg," which the liner notes say resembles British jazz but which I say gives British jazz a bad name, and possibly "Love Is All There Is" which has an irritating beginning.


This IS the way!
Since the passing of Nick Webb, AA has tried everything with varying degrees of acceptance. Acoustic Alchemy is nothing if not experimental. AA first added brass with "The Beautiful Game. " They continued to look for the proper balance between the original vision of three acoustic guitars and a harder more modern sound. Later releases continued the experiment. In short, AA never looked back, or spent much time trying to recreate the style they used with Nick Webb.

This release is the best result of all the experimenting. The union of acoustic and electronic is seemless and unobtrusive. The brass is better blended and more natural. The styling of the pieces is articulate and compelling. There isn't a bad track on the album.
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This Way Is a fine way!
Like every smooth jazz CD in my collection I have my favorite tunes and this one is no different. The CD has some great tunes. Great to add to your collection.


Get the earlier Nick Webb stuff first
ALL the early stuff was beyond great. This album is good but not great. They are, in fact, my favorite instrumental group. But after Nick Webb passed away, AA became just 'ok. ' If you get all their earlier stuff, and want more, then get the post Webb stuff. But not before! The order they came out in was: 1. Red Dust and Spanish Lace. 2. Natural Elements. 3. Blue Chip. 4. Natural Elements. 5. Reference Point. 6. Back on the Case. 7. The New Edge 8. Against the Grain. That was the last great album. On all 8 of these there is not one bad song. More than that, more than half of them are just sensational. A careful, thoughtful weaving of melodies you can't forget, with bridges that take you someplace else. Great, great, great. The group was actually started by Webb and Simon James. The current leader, Carmichael, came along after James left the group. Webb always played the steel string and James. . . and later Carmichael. . . . played the nylon string guitar. In my opinion, the group was always about Webb. He played lead on the vast majority of songs. Wrote most of them too. After he left, the whole chemistry changed. Not bad stuff, but not the best instrumental group ever, IMHO. There's an interesting compilation of the pre-Carmichael stuff called Early Alchemy. Not bad stuff either and you can hear earlier versions of some of their classic songs. Get these 8 albums. You won't be sorry. .


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.

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