March 30, 2020: "This Week in Fingerstyle!"
"This Week in Fingerstyle" on Spotify by Daryl Shawn!
March 30, 2020
"www.randalsview.blog"
In the midst of the current COVID-19 "worldwide madness" out there, it seems even more important to find some normalcy in our routines: Daryl Shawn has come through for us with "This Week in Fingerstyle" on time and beautiful as always!
"The most exciting playlist on Spotify" reloaded again for a great Monday morning! "This Week in Fingerstyle" curated by Daryl Shawn is where you'll find the absolute best that true "Indie" has to offer in the world of fingerstyle! Daryl does all the selecting of the tunes, I just make a few comments. Put your headphones on or AirPods in and disappear into these wonderful sounds as we check out what gems Daryl found for us this week!
When you spend hours each Monday morning listening to and "reviewing" the new adds to a playlist you get pretty attached to that playlist and it sort of becomes a part of you. When you also create music that is in the style of that playlist you can't help but hope that your newest song makes the grade and finds itself on that playlist. When it happens it's a big thrill: I mean a big thrill! And this week the guitar/piano duo of Ken Smith & me not only made the grade, but "Morning Mist" found itself in the top spot! Thank you Daryl Shawn, truly an honor!
First up is "Morning Mist" by me & the incredible Ken Smith! I've written the full story behind this collaboration in another blog post so here I'm just going to say that this was a "life changer" for me. Ken took my guitar part and added the most beautiful piano to create something that I barely recognized. It's a soft, "cool jazz" sort of piece that is so different from anything I've done before that I totally credit Ken and his genius! His genius opened something inside me that took my music to a different place. Thank you Ken, you are truly a great musical partner!
"Let Her Go" is a perfect cover by "Nylon Wings" (David Westin) & Rudi Salisbury. Even if you can't name the original composer (Passenger) you will immediately recognize the tune! David & Rudi manage to blend two nylon string guitars and some soft background strings into soft melodious perfection: Wow! Perfection guys!
"I Guess I Just Feel Like" is a heavenly cover of John Mayer's song. Alright, I just talked about the "perfect cover above" but here you have yet another example of musical perfection. This guitar/mandolin duo is a step above. That doesn't surprise me. Since I first heard Collin Hill about a year and a half ago I have been amazed at everything he does, literally every song! Collin is true perfection in sound. Myles Thompson's mandolin here is perfection as well, with never a harsh or "over-the-top" tone, just smooth like blended whiskey! Collin & Myles, my hat is tipped to you and I stand in awe: you are two of this century's virtuosos! I fully expect these incredible musician to fill stadiums around the world at some point in their careers!
When I'm not enjoying fingerstyle guitar, you'll find me listening to classical music and it's a real treat to find the two genres merged especially with steel string guitar. You don't find it terribly often because it is really difficult to play classical on a steel string guitar! Victor Howe shows us his virtuosity with this one and what a thrill! Even if you don't label yourself a classical fan, you will recognize this piece but it sounds totally different and wonderful on the steel string guitar. Bravo Vic!
"Idle Sea" by Alan Shoesmith is beautiful and picturesque evoking the sounds and sights of the sea with music. Calm and peaceful, like the title, this music just puts you in a good mood. Expect to see an explosion of music from this wonderful artist soon, so be sure to "Follow" him! Well done Alan!
"Kahin Toh" is a cover of the Bollywood hit and Rachanachar (Pranjal Uniyal) puts his skills on full display with perfect mastery of fingerstyle from around the world. This piece just sings and puts a smile on my face to remind me how similar and connected we all are on this tiny planet. A fingerstyle master from a small town in the Himalayas, Rachanacar (Pranjal Uniyal) lifts my spirits by giving us an incredible performance and proving that he can hang with the best in the world. Pranjal, that guitar that you always keep in the back of the little store you run, has certainly paid off! Well done! Wow!
"Under the Weather" by INST (Zach Hughes) is a wonderful soft piece for a romantic stroll across the dance floor with the love of your life or that special someone you hope becomes the "love of your life". Beautiful and serene, this piece pulls at the heart strings! Beautiful!
"Blinding Lights" cover by rising Latvian star Vadim Kobal takes a number 1 "synth-pop" song and turns it around in such a beautiful way that it finds itself here on the most exciting fingerstyle guitar playlist on the planet! Once again, the talent around the world surfaces and rises! A few generations back some of my own relatives emigrated from Latvia and it is wonderful to see this talented artist rise to the top! Go Vadim!!!
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have wowed us with many great hits over the years and here two of fingerstyle's finest, Lance Allen & Jon Hart, take "Under the Bridge" and serve it up with finesse! These two can each play anything and create originals that are stunning. To have them together for this cover is a treat! I can visualize Jon's head rockin' back and forth on this one and Lance rockin' out! Totally cool guys!
Finally, Meadowlark's (Rick Cyge's) "Dancing with Angels" closes out the new top ten with a beautiful celtic style piece. An absolutely lovely piece, Rick hails from beautiful Sedona, AZ where the locals and tourists are treated almost nightly with Rick's beautiful original and cover songs. Whether he's giving us a Beatles cover or a celtic beauty, Rick is always at the top of his game and this one is a wonderful example of Rick's guitar talent and compositional skill. A beautiful way to end the new top ten on "This Week".
First up is "Morning Mist" by me & the incredible Ken Smith! I've written the full story behind this collaboration in another blog post so here I'm just going to say that this was a "life changer" for me. Ken took my guitar part and added the most beautiful piano to create something that I barely recognized. It's a soft, "cool jazz" sort of piece that is so different from anything I've done before that I totally credit Ken and his genius! His genius opened something inside me that took my music to a different place. Thank you Ken, you are truly a great musical partner!
"Let Her Go" is a perfect cover by "Nylon Wings" (David Westin) & Rudi Salisbury. Even if you can't name the original composer (Passenger) you will immediately recognize the tune! David & Rudi manage to blend two nylon string guitars and some soft background strings into soft melodious perfection: Wow! Perfection guys!
"I Guess I Just Feel Like" is a heavenly cover of John Mayer's song. Alright, I just talked about the "perfect cover above" but here you have yet another example of musical perfection. This guitar/mandolin duo is a step above. That doesn't surprise me. Since I first heard Collin Hill about a year and a half ago I have been amazed at everything he does, literally every song! Collin is true perfection in sound. Myles Thompson's mandolin here is perfection as well, with never a harsh or "over-the-top" tone, just smooth like blended whiskey! Collin & Myles, my hat is tipped to you and I stand in awe: you are two of this century's virtuosos! I fully expect these incredible musician to fill stadiums around the world at some point in their careers!
When I'm not enjoying fingerstyle guitar, you'll find me listening to classical music and it's a real treat to find the two genres merged especially with steel string guitar. You don't find it terribly often because it is really difficult to play classical on a steel string guitar! Victor Howe shows us his virtuosity with this one and what a thrill! Even if you don't label yourself a classical fan, you will recognize this piece but it sounds totally different and wonderful on the steel string guitar. Bravo Vic!
"Idle Sea" by Alan Shoesmith is beautiful and picturesque evoking the sounds and sights of the sea with music. Calm and peaceful, like the title, this music just puts you in a good mood. Expect to see an explosion of music from this wonderful artist soon, so be sure to "Follow" him! Well done Alan!
"Kahin Toh" is a cover of the Bollywood hit and Rachanachar (Pranjal Uniyal) puts his skills on full display with perfect mastery of fingerstyle from around the world. This piece just sings and puts a smile on my face to remind me how similar and connected we all are on this tiny planet. A fingerstyle master from a small town in the Himalayas, Rachanacar (Pranjal Uniyal) lifts my spirits by giving us an incredible performance and proving that he can hang with the best in the world. Pranjal, that guitar that you always keep in the back of the little store you run, has certainly paid off! Well done! Wow!
"Under the Weather" by INST (Zach Hughes) is a wonderful soft piece for a romantic stroll across the dance floor with the love of your life or that special someone you hope becomes the "love of your life". Beautiful and serene, this piece pulls at the heart strings! Beautiful!
"Blinding Lights" cover by rising Latvian star Vadim Kobal takes a number 1 "synth-pop" song and turns it around in such a beautiful way that it finds itself here on the most exciting fingerstyle guitar playlist on the planet! Once again, the talent around the world surfaces and rises! A few generations back some of my own relatives emigrated from Latvia and it is wonderful to see this talented artist rise to the top! Go Vadim!!!
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have wowed us with many great hits over the years and here two of fingerstyle's finest, Lance Allen & Jon Hart, take "Under the Bridge" and serve it up with finesse! These two can each play anything and create originals that are stunning. To have them together for this cover is a treat! I can visualize Jon's head rockin' back and forth on this one and Lance rockin' out! Totally cool guys!
Finally, Meadowlark's (Rick Cyge's) "Dancing with Angels" closes out the new top ten with a beautiful celtic style piece. An absolutely lovely piece, Rick hails from beautiful Sedona, AZ where the locals and tourists are treated almost nightly with Rick's beautiful original and cover songs. Whether he's giving us a Beatles cover or a celtic beauty, Rick is always at the top of his game and this one is a wonderful example of Rick's guitar talent and compositional skill. A beautiful way to end the new top ten on "This Week".
And don't stop there! Remember that all the past selections follow the new top ten starting with "New Leaves" by Realizer & Isabella Mariscal!
Daryl Shawn, thank you again for making my Monday mornings a very special and exciting part of every week!
And that's it for another "This Week in Fingerstyle" by Daryl Shawn who every week puts together "the most exciting playlist on Spotify"!
Remember to "Follow/Heart/Like" the playlist that Daryl Shawn so painstakingly creates every week!
Join us every week for "This Week in Fingerstyle" on Spotify!
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