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The Sounding Board by R J Lannan |
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RJ Lannan is the reviewer for The Sounding Board. |
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| Rotation Of Earth. Pieces for Guitar |
| By Damon Buxton |
| Label: Many Miles Music |
| Released 4/8/2010 |
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| Rotation Of Earth. Pieces for Guitar tracks |
1. Cadence
2. Rotation of Earth
3. Childhood
4. The First Day
5. Three Muses
6. Cupid's Bow
7. Laurel Highlands Bride
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8. Mika'ele Moon
9. Alora
10. Cradle and Carousel
11. Rotation of the Earth (Reprise)
12. The Labor of Kings
13. With Eyes Closed (for Ash)
14. Laid to Rest
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Putting His Own Spin on Things |
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Methodical, precise and passionate - that is guitarist Damon Buxton's personal signature on every composition he writes. On his latest offering Rotation of Earth, he takes a day on the planet and turns it musically into a lifetime voyage for the heart and mind. He has done this before. His previous album Forgiving Dreams was also a foray into daily life and love of family. His music, solo acoustic guitar is contemporary as is his theology of daily living. Lucky for us he can translate it into music.
The feel of a new day and the energy it promises are wrapped up in the first cut called Cadence. It is the sound of one hand held out to adventure and the other grasping all that the day has to offer, be it new friendships, the discovery of the brightest monarch butterfly in the field or the fleeciest cloud in the summer sky.
Sometimes it seems that we are just a fixture in our particular lives and the earth makes a turn and there we are, still at the very same point. Same old, same old. We are bewildered in our stagnation and wait for something to happen to get us moving again. The title tune, Rotation of Earth is a wake-up call; our incentive to get moving and do something, anything!
Mika'ele is the Hawaiian word for Michael and the name of one of Damon's more spritely tunes on the album. He gets a little bit native with his slack key variations and the mood is warm and friendly. Yeah, friendly, that is the word. The song has an almost Keola Beamer tone to it. Friendships on the Islands are taken very seriously. Like family, the bonds are to be respected and cherished.
The Labor of Kings is Damon's modern realization of Greensleeves, the very familiar, yet very old English ballad. His particular variation puts the theme in the background and his unique fingerstyle picking in the foreground. Using his meticulous style, he manages to make one guitarist sound like two.
The track Laid to Rest, the conclusion of the guitar work would be an unpleasant memory for anyone, but Damon manages to express his grief in his music rather poignantly. To me the song is not so much a lament as it is a regret that there was not enough time for many things to come to pass.
Biographical details of Damon Buxton remain sketchy as they were when I reviewed his previous album. It is not that he is surreptitious, the details are just plain vague. He had some success with his first album Sketchbook One and then collaborated with world renowned producer and legendary guitarist Will Ackerman. His talent is equal to Ackerman's on many levels and he will go far in the contemporary music genre. AS before, I await his next venture with bated breath. Highly recommended.
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Rating: Very Good  |
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- reviewed by RJ Lannan on 8/13/2010 |
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