Friday, 03 July 2009- Local IQ-
By Michael Henningsen
The latest album by local blues guitar legend Stan Hirsch is reflective of an artist who has seen it all, done it all and graciously passed it off to the next generation Hirsch has made a handful of recordings himself over the years in a variety of incarnations, but his best records have always been those truest to his preferred method of live performance: one voice, one guitar.
Compelled to Play, Hirsch’s latest 12-song outing, is as close as one can get to experiencing the journeyman blues purveyor live without leaving the comfort of one’s own home. Compelled to Play was recorded live, each song captured in a single, first take. Anyone who has ever experienced the recording process already understands the monumental achievement therein; those who haven’t will just have to trust that single-taking an entire album is close to impossible, save for the most studied, seasoned musician.
The song choices and sequence on Compelled to Play are as captivating as Hirsch’s ultra-spirited treatments and arrangements — Elvis Presley’s “Mystery Train,” John Lee Hooker’s “Baby Please Don’t Go,” Robert Johnson’s “Walking Blues” and Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working” are placed carefully among a set of highly evolved original material. Hirsch isn’t so much playing the blues here as he is channeling them. It’s a rare musician who can echo and approximate the original intent of a song while making it unmistakably his or her own. Hirsch is one such artist. He growls, howls and whispers his way through Compelled’s dozen tunes with brazen determination and, on first listen, an almost disquieting sense of soul baring. Hirsch sounds like he’s singing in your head; you can almost see him seated, guitar balanced on his left leg, hunched over the microphone. It’s intimacy to the nth degree.
With the vocals in the driver’s seat here, it takes a little time to begin to absorb the subtlety and nuance that informs Hirsch’s left-of-center guitar work. Working percussive thumb picking into feverish crescendos and then cascading out into careful, sinfully beautiful arpeggios is just part of the recipe: Hirsch fleshes out the songs with minor key inversions and chord figures that, for most players, never get past glimmers of what’s possible with five fingers manipulating six strings. In that regard, Hirsch’s guitar prowess is simply on a higher plane. But he’s also supremely gifted with the ability to make virtuosity palatable to even the most casual listener.
Compelled to Play is the latest chapter in the Stan Hirsch saga, and one that begs your full attention. No slick production, no outside accompaniment except a brushed snare and finger snaps on one of his originals, and, most assuredly, no bullshit. It’s Stan Hirsch at his finest —
BIO:
I am a musician who's primary instrument is the guitar.
My abilities on the guitar are not what defines me as a musician,
but rather the vehicle which allows me to perform.
What makes me a musician is my musicianship,
which amongst other things, includes the knowledge and ability to hear and understand the primary elements of that organized sound ---called music.
I was born in Albuquerque , New Mexico. (USA) 1949.
and have been a performing musician for 40 years.
Working in most every style.
On electric and acoustic guitars--in bands, and as a soloist.
I have been teaching guitar for 30 years.
Feeling compelled to do both of these things which I love-(most of the time).
Following my bliss I develop the skills--
score the gigs--mostly bread and butter stuff--sometimes gravy.
I am what you call a working musician.
Hirsch, a master of solo acoustic blues, can drive a fiery bad-ass boogie that sounds like a 3-piece band, or soar with a gut-wrenching, sweet, string-bending slow blues. Together with his commanding vocals, Hirsch delivers a dynamic performance, blending a big full sound with his intimate, personal delivery. Rooted in old-style blues traditions, Hirsch will satisfy the blues purists as well as challenge those who seek something new.
“He commands your attention with his deep-in-the-well singing, his knowledgeable fingering on a flattop guitar and his fresh compositions. Together, these elements make you think he was born to the blues.”
D. Steinberg, Albuquerque Sunday Journal---
“Guitar God Stan Hirsch-phenomenal doesn’t begin to describe his playing. Complete mastery of the six-string is more accurate. His guitar work is mesmerizing and his soul-drenched vocals are unlike any west of the Mississippi Delta.”
-M. Henningsen, Weekly Alibi
“His sound--which manages to sound unique and familiar at the same time--falls somewhere between country blues and greasy clubhouse. The result is unwaveringly tasty in a home-fried kind of way. Hirsch’s music makes the blues worth having.”
M. Kostner, Santa Fe Festival Promoter, Journal Venue North
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