Various - Imaginational Anthem Volume 8: The Private Press 2xLP
$24.98
Label: Tompkins Square
Our Review:
This is volume 8 in Tompkins Square's signature Imaginational Anthem series of dreamy guitar soli, and for this edition they really put together something special. Handing the curatorial reigns over to record collectors Brooks Rice and Michael Klausman (former used lp buyer from Other Music), the duo provided a crate diggers dream roster of impossibly rare private press recordings spanning from 1968-1995, mostly by artists whom Tompkins Square label-head Josh Rosenthal, a premiere guitar soli expert, had never even heard of before. Spanning styles from modal jazz progressions, electric ragas, Spanish-influenced explorations, sitar excursions, and wistful slide-guitar reveries, this is an incredibly researched collection of little-heard solo guitar gems. It's guitar music that doesn't necessarily tread through the same paths of the Fahey school, but instead sets out on a deeper trajectory into blithe solitary worlds. The included booklet of notes and photographs contain some very interesting rock folklore such as Perry Lederman being the man who reportedly taught Bob Dylan how to fingerpick, and how Joe Bethancourt was gifted a sitar by Jimi Hendrix who was an admiring fan, but each of the 14 artists have their own unique story. Most importantly, it's really wonderful to hear such divine music that would have otherwise remained buried in obscurity be brought out into the light for the world to behold.
