DAVE BEEGLE
A Year Closer (Hapi Skratch)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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As the front man for the progressive rock trio Fourth Estate Dave Beegle established himself in the front rank of those guitarists affectionately known as "shredders." At the same time he was working on several other musical fronts, playing jazz, blues, techno and even holding a spot in War Pigs, a Black Sabbath cover band. None of that really intimated where he has gone on A Year Closer, however, where he trades the attack of his Transperformance Automatic Tuning Guitar and amplifier stack for an acoustic approach that allows him to demonstrate a different set of skills and an emotional range that's easily hidden in noisier environments.

The music (nine of the ten tracks are Beegle compositions) draws from a variety of sources, including flamenco, Middle Eastern rhythms, blues and bebop, but Beegle molds and forms them into a cohesive body of work that earned widespread praise from reviewers and from peers like Phil Keaggy. It's praise well deserved. Few players can effectively span the range of styles that Beegle has mastered with comparable expertise in each of them, and A Year Closer is an album that both impresses and entertains.

Track List:

Big Fish Rhumba * All The King's Men * A Year Closer * Malaguena * Shake It But Don't Break It ('Cause If You Bruise It I Can't Use It) * Jazz For Dad * Rose's Garden * Grace From Mercy * Joy * A Simple Prayer

© 2002 - Shaun Dale