 
|
HOWARD EMERSON
A Tale To Tell (Independent)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
Ever hear someone playing bottleneck slide on a truly fine acoustic guitar, and playing it with such skill and feeling that you're just glued to the spot, chills racing down your back? That's the experience of listening to Howard Emerson. He's an independent artist and for that reason, and that reason alone, his fame is drastically out of proportion with his talent. With some promotional dollars and people behind him, he'd be popping up all over the place.
Emerson's arsenal for this album consists of six guitars that will make the players out there drool: A 1920 Sovereign Concert model, a 1927 Gibson TG L5 (the "TG" denotes a tenor guitar, but this one was converted to a six string by the Gibson factory in 1933), a 1935 Gibson L-100, a 1997 Martin OM-18v, a 1970 Guild F-212 12 string and a Flammang E.L. Majestic. That's a ton o' tone right there, and if you doubt it, have a quick listen to track number one, "Roll Call," which is simply a sixteen seconds and one strum from each of these marvelous axes. First time around, I felt a little light-headed after track one.
Okay, so the guitars sound good with or without Emerson, but their vocabularies are definitely limited until he starts in fingerpickin', which is the other half of his forte. Instrumentals are the order of the day here, but he begins the album with a vocal tune, "Flirty Skirt," and immediately you have to wonder how hard it must be for Emerson to stay away from the microphone. The man has an endlessly pleasing voice, mellow but with all kinds of personality, and as much as I'm knocked out by the instrumentals, I'd also like to hear more of this side of Howard Emerson. He only sings four songs on A Tale To Tell, but it's clear his voice is strong enough to carry an album, should he decide to try that sometime.
Oh, but those instrumentals! He doesn't go for knockout flash. Emerson knows what taste is about, and he employs it perfectly in every instance. Including when he's rocking, as he does on the only cover tune on the album, a 12-string arrangement of Chuck Berry's "Maybellene." He performs it in a loping, back-country way that works like a voodoo charm. The album closes on a beautiful note (one of many) with an instrumental piece called "Nokie's Blue Bottle" that sounds so peaceful and down home you'll be certain it must have been recorded right there on the porch pictured on the back cover. The entire album is that intimate, and it feels that good. This is why some of us reserve the right to occasionally use a fifth star in a four star world.
© 2005 - DJ Johnson