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Celtic Waters 2012 CD $12.
Bob offers up traditional Celtic songs, with authentic interpretations of style and melody, mostly solo, but with flute and cello
on several tracks.
AcouStick* Dawn 2003 CD $12.
Bob has gone deeper than ever into his music, deeper into the sound of the
small classical guitar body, deeper into his incredible technique on the
mahogany Stick neck with the Rails, and is now totally submerged in the
traditions of Spanish classical guitar, Flamenco guitar and the world of
Brazilian harmonies and rhythms. Yet no classical guitarist I've ever heard
can come close to Bob's precision, dynamic control, texturally rich
arrangements, and sheer speed and flow of execution within this fertile
discipline.
Blend in an equal measure of burning passion expressed through brilliant
new fingering routines, and you have Bob Culbertson's newest solo CD,
"AcouStick Dawn", featuring his solos on the first prototype of a planned
acoustic Stick model.
Bob has found a worthy vessel into which to pour his fiery tapping energy,
an elaborate vessel shaped in traditional musical forms - driving Latin
body-rhythms, soulful Spanish guitar transcriptions of classical themes,
and guitar type crescendos and flourishes.
I'm proud to say I used to urge him in this direction, and I'd still like to
see him play the college circuit as Segovia did when he first introduced the
classical guitar to this continent and thereby forged his own place in musical
history.
Out of the twelve songs on this CD, seven are Bob's originals, five of which
are Spanish or Latin in style and two of which bring back Bob's earlier
Celtic explorations. He also plays Isaac Albeniz's "Layenda", Francisco
Tarrega's "Recuerdos De La Alhambra", and J.S. Bach's "Toccata and Fugue".
Then there are classical styled AcouStick renditions of Steve Howe's "Mood
for a Day" and Jimmy Hendrix's "Little Wing".
In Recuerdos, Bob taps out the classical tremolo right hand technique, three
unison pedal notes with lead melody note in rapid fire, and makes it flow
unflagging throughout the song. He captures the dynamic Flamenco
multi-fingered strumming effects by holding a chord in each hand and rolling
(arpeggiating) them top-to-bottom/bottom-to-top, at strumming speed of course.
To add a warm feeling of guitar accompaniment to the live performance, he
actually strums or slaps with his right thumb while all other fingers are
occupied with bass, chords and melody.
Bob says in his liner notes that the AcouStick is "the acoustic version of
the Chapman Stick" and is "the first fully acoustic musical instrument
designed purely for the touch method of playing", and that this CD is its
"first recording".
What I'm left remembering is the sound of Bob's fingers on acoustic strings,
a sound like no other Stick or tapped guitar. The acoustical richness and
resonances actually dominate over the expected Stick tapping sound, maybe to
the point where some classical guitarists might actually identify with Bob's
artistry and even answer to his challenge.
Best to All, Emmett
*AcouStick™ is a trademark of Bob Culbertson and Stick Enterprises.
Romantica 1, Romantica 2 2000 CD $12 (each).
The double CD album "Romantica" proves Bob to be an authentic classical
soloist of great expressive range, and for the first time gives The Stick
a legitimate place among solo instruments in that genre. He plays the strings
clean and unprocessed, calling upon the subtle interpretative traditions of
the classically trained musician.
The Spanish classical guitar and its tonal variations and embellishment
techniques inspired his faithful renditions of Bach's "Toccata and Fugue",
Francisco Terrega's "Recuerdos de Alhambra", and Isaac Albeniz' "Leyenda".
Though Bob taps the strings with all eight fingers (and both thumbs), you
can feel the Spanish guitarist's right hand techniques in these songs.
At other times he brings out the instrumental tones and technical style of
a well tempered harpsichord, as in Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" and Gasper
Sanz' "Canarios". In Bob's hands, the ringing strings alternately sound like
guitar, harp, even English bells. The sweet highs and resonant lows create
a full and satisfying listening experience.
There are a total of 24 diverse compositions on these two CDs.
The Touch 1998 CD $12.
The third in a threesome of solo Stick CDs (along with A Moment in
Time and Cafe San Francisco), The Touch reveals Bob's
musicianship and composition at a state of unity, harmony and near
perfection in terms of the challenging goals he has set for himself.
He unites both bass and melody string groups into one entity on the
board, thereby enhancing the unique qualities of The Stick as a musical
instrument in its own right. He also unites his awesome array of
sub-techniques into one big "Stick" technique - an interdependent
"fingerpicking" style combined with independent counterpoint, left and
right thumbs as part of the line, and a strumming overlay at any moment
(without blinking of course).
There is an honest "bluegrass" kind of rigor to this album.
Bob taps out composed and improvised fingerpicking patterns in the
spirit of Michael Hedges, and moves them around in novel harmonic
directions, adding a classical layer to his unique and personal solo
style.
Cafe San Francisco 1996 CD $12. (currently out of print)
This follow-up to Bob's A Moment in Time uses the same
"live" solo recording technique as his earlier work, but the
material is decidedly jazzier and bluesier. He successfully employs
The Grand Stick as a complete stringed instrument, with lots of
lyrical bending, slides, harmonics, walking bass and trills. His
interweaving of sustained overlapping bass and melody strings creates
the effect of a giant fingerstyle guitar. The twelve original pieces
are relaxed yet often intricate forays, presenting a variety of styles
and moods: pop, waltzes, blues, Latin. Throughout the course of any
given piece Bob will play the entire instrument, even employing his
legendary thumb techniques, pre-bending notes and flying through runs
with dizzying speed. His tone is "acoustic" in nature and
highly expressive.
A Moment in Time 1994 CD $12.
A Moment in Time was all recorded live solo on Bob's 12-string
Grand Stick. Like a classical guitarist he creates all his expressive
effects, nuances and dynamics from his fingers alone - very instructive
and challenging for a Stick player, very inspiring for musicians in
general. He subdues himself, serving his music, patiently building to
its heights. His broad array of sub-techniques creates a solo orchestra
of strings, brimming with sonic textures, flamenco rhythms,
simultaneous strumming and counterpoint creeping out of every sector
of the fretboard (and out of every finger). His styles range from
Celtic to flamenco, baroque and "New Age" with wonderfully
fast melodic lines and flourishes. All original compositions.
Season of Joy 1995 Christmas CD $12.
Bob sticks to his straightforward solo Stick approach. These nine
traditional carols and one original are relaxed and sweetly presented,
with Bob's left hand sounding at times likes a piano or guitar.
Occasional bluesy riffs vary the improvisational sections of the pieces.
New World Dance 1992 CD $15.
Bob's Stick virtuosity is prominent throughout, along with vocals and
African percussion by Babatunde Olatunji. Expansive songscapes by the
African Rain singing group complement and temper Bob's world-class
instrumental skills. The result is an inspirational work of
multi-cultural dimensions.