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Review by Bill Binkelman From Bruce Arnolds's liner notes: "For me there are few things as satisfying as sitting in a room with another guitar player and just making music. No ego, no agenda, no politics &endash; just a need to interact and make music. I believe this recording captures this kind of interaction and I hope you find it as enjoyable as I do." Well, I sure as hell found this album extremely entertaining. two guys from south dakota is a great example of two musicians who exhibit symbiosis by sharing the lead back and forth, never stepping on each other, and finding a comfortable swinging groove to unwind inside of on each of the six songs on the CD. There is a relaxed and unforced casualness to this album, even when the fretboard action is frenetic, so that I'd call this ideal early or late evening music (in the same way that the Pat Metheny/Charlie Haden duet album, Beyond the Missouri Sky, is as well). While the mood is lighter, bouncier, and livelier on some tracks than on ...Missouri Sky, the overall vibe is still that of a twilight neon glow than anything else. This is not a smooth jazz album, although I suppose fans of "lite jazz guitar" would like this CD. Jazz purists will embrace this recording with arms wide open, though. The music on the CD is, for the most part, highly accessible, even when the improvisational mood hits Arnold and Miller. If there is a concern to be expressed about the album it would be be that the less sophisticated ear might find the sound of just two guitars for an entire recording tiresome. I had no such reaction, but I really love jazz guitar. To my ears, there is enough variation between songs that this critique would only apply to someone who needs a wide variety of music on a CD. While I seldom openly endorse playing a jazz album solely as background music, and I'm not necessarily doing that here, two guys... works nicely in that regard nonetheless. Singling out favorite tracks is solely academic, because I enjoyed everything here. For the sake of providing detail, "Time Remembered" is slightly more introspective and subdued than, for example, "Invitation" and "Alone Together" is decidedly more bluesy than the uptempo infectious "Billie's Bounce." Honestly, though, a yeoman guitar lover could easily allow the lines between cuts to blur and just enjoy the album as a whole. Regardless of what position you assume, two guys from south dakota is an excellent, if not superb, recording and I recommend it highly, as well as noting it should be considered nigh essential for jazz guitar fans. |
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