TIM EDEY - The Best Of Tim Edey
Gnatbite Records GB012
Virtuoso may be an overused term but there is no doubting its applicability to Tim Edey. For those who don’t already know, Tim is a Jack of all trades and master of them all too, playing a host of different instruments to a standard us mere mortals can only dream of.
As a showcase of his talent this collection is a gem – all 18 tracks of it. Not only does it include collaborations with some of the finest musicians around (Sharon Shannon, Seamus Begley, Brendan Power, Mike McGoldrick, Ross Ainsley, Lucy Randall and Jon Sanders), all highlighting Tim’s prowess in creating stunning guitar leads, accompaniments and arrangements, but it also features his outstanding talent on melodeon and his not inconsiderable tunesmithing skills. Many genres are covered here. Irish melodies are to the fore, as one would expect from the partnerships featured, but there are also dazzling displays of Django Reinhardt style gipsy swing, latin and jazz influenced arrangements along with subtle treatments of well known airs and quite a number of tunes from his own pen.
One of the standout tracks for me is The Sarangi Gardens. This is an adaptation of the The Sally Gardens, which starts off as a beautifully poignant arrangement of the original tune but then subtly moves into an intriguing minor adaptation, followed by an almost unrecognisable swing version which is truly magnificent in its conception and the sheer virtuosity with which it is played. Mind boggling stuff.
I once read an article about another guitarist which read something like: “This guy makes you want to go out and buy a box of matches (for your own guitar)”! How can one person have this much talent? It’s just not fair! Listen and weep. Nothing short of spectacular.
Jim Byrne
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this CD online from The Listening Post The Listening Post is the CD mailorder service of The Living Tradition magazine. This album was reviewed in Issue 92 of The Living Tradition magazine. |