July 20, 2020: "This Week in Fingerstyle!"

"This Week in Fingerstyle" on Spotify by Daryl Shawn!

July 20, 2020

by Randal L Meek

"www.randalsview.blog"

July is more than half over! Wow, this year seems to be going by quickly! Daryl Shawn keeps us up to date on the latest in fingerstyle with a new top ten of the best in fingerstyle guitar each week! The world is still bruised from the COVID crisis but the music is flowing! Thanks Daryl for helping to keep us going and entertained during this time and all the rest of the year!  

"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! "This Week" now has over 500 "Followers" enjoying this weekly treat!

First up is "Followers of Dulcamara" by Ulli Boegershausen & Franco Morone, a wonderful piece that within the first minute crosses from a western movie set to a sort of late sixties and early 70's style vibe. A fascinating blend in an exhilarating piece! This one managed to get me fully awake on Monday morning! 

"Menhir" by Andrew York is an equally fascinating piece with what could be scale-run exercises accented by chords on the first beat and a wonderful melody that emerges about half way through the piece. Another of Andrew's beautiful pieces where I'm left staring off into space left in wild thoughts provoked by the music. Bravo!

Melvin Carter Junior pulls us right back in with a brilliant cover of Miles Davis' "Freddie Freeloader"! Raw and edgy jazz at its best! 

"Anti-wrinkle Blues" by Elson Complex and John Clark is "wild and wooly" in an almost gluttonous way letting us know that these two masters can't and won't be contained even as individual artists, but put them together and they push the limits and slake our thirst for something totally out of the box! Wow! Gonna' be coming back to this several times today and "this week!"

"Daydream" by Glenn Roth is an ethereal magic carpet ride through the misty edges of consciousness . To dream during the day is a luxury far removed from many people's lives in this hectic & crisis-ridden world, but Glenn gives us the opportunity to sit back, relax and daydream! Thank you Glenn!

"Fragile" by Jim "Kimo" West is his absolutely incredible take on the Sting hit! There are times when someone totally nails a cover and Jim nailed this one! I could listen to this one for hours just for the pure, beautiful display of guitar skill, harmony and timing. This may be the best cover out this year! Mahalo "Kimo"!

"Bantry Girl's Lament" is my own take on the beautiful traditional Celtic "Bantry Girl's Lament" in Drop D tuning. This is a sweet melodic, romantic solo guitar piece with just a touch of melancholy. Recorded at the famed "e-Town Hall" in Boulder, CO. Thanks for shining some light on this classic piece Daryl with it's inclusion on "This Week!"

And Alberto Lombardi nails the happy "You Can't Hurry Love" with skill and a little shuffle! Dancing and happy faces occur everywhere when this one is played! Brilliant guitar Alberto! 

"Aruna" by August Flendahl is August's signature sweet, lush nylon sound that lets you drift away on a peaceful ocean breeze. Love this sound!

And Casper Esmann tackles a classic with "Purple Rain". Everyone knows this tune and it's a real challenge to pull it off considering it's lineage. As always, Casper manages it by adding just a little sweetness and brilliance from the acoustic guitar, but still preserve the edgy feel. Hats off to you Casper, I love this one!

And don't stop there! Remember that all the past selections follow the new top ten starting with "Center" by the unique and stunningly talented Lunng Fern! So much beautiful music on this list, it is rather amazing and it grows ten new pieces each week!

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!