Album Notes

Most of us, when we discover a musical style we admire, show our appreciation by buying the corresponding CDs or tapes, playing them again and again, and perhaps inviting friends to listen as well.

Andy shows his appreciation by incorporating that style into his already sizable musical range.

This means that he is capable of playing an African melody against a Latin American rhythm or counterpointing a Chilean melody he heard at a world music festival with a folk melody he remembers from his childhood.

He manages this fluidly and seemingly effortlessly, convincing us that these various styles have been waiting all along for someone to throw a big party where they can all finally get to know each other.

Andy throws a party every time he picks up a guitar.

Of course, Andy Sheppard is too talented and creative in his own right to be content merely as an invisible host.

The reason he can combine the music of various traditions with such grace Is that he has developed his own signature style, which can bridge any geographical or musical gap.

Rock and Roll was born out of the tension and excitement generated by blending the musical traditions of a wide range of people and activities.

Andy approaches his music with the same kind of exuberance that must have been part of the early days of rock and roll when the possibilities seemed endless for the future of music.

It is exciting to discover that the same sort of testing of musical boundaries is still possible, and that we have In Andy Sheppard a guitarist aiming to put Canada on the map of world music, in the true global sense of the term.

Stephanie Hodnett Parlo.com Language, Culture, Life.