Listened - about 20 times so far
author: Dennis Sullivan
Wonderful Beatles music played by a true artist. Such a nice way to turn rock and roll into soulful pure guitar.
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author: Chris Dumigan, "Classical Guitar" magazine
Spread over two well-filled discs, here is a very interesting and beautifully played set of some of the most well-known songs ever written. Variety is the order of the day, as Thomas has made every effort to arrange each successive piece for a new combination, so you get on the one hand a number of solo classical arrangements such as "Her Majesty", which becomes delightfully ragtime in feel, a cheeky "From Me To You", a slightly exotic "If I Fell", next to "Hello Goodbye" for two steel-string guitars, "Help", for three mandolins and a steel-strung guitar, "Come Together" for four steel-strings, a jazz guitar and a bass guitar, and even "I Feel Fine" for bottleneck slide guitar!
This is all beautifully done, lots of fun and all wonderfully played and should be owned by anyone interested in fine guitar playing, and/or the music of the Beatles.
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author: minor7th.com
This two-disc project showcases Thomas’ impressive technique on several acoustic instruments: steel string guitar, classical guitar, mandolin, 12-string, bottleneck slide, bass guitar and a banjulele. The Atlanta native multi-tracks his solo playing so that some songs may have three or five or eight instruments interweaving simultaneously, a prodigious undertaking in and of itself. However, what strikes one most about this collection is Thomas’ bold arrangements. While Thomas plays a few of these "straight," he turns a few entirely on their ears, and fusses and tinkers with the rest. Straight, with only one instrument, and quite nicely done are "Yesterday," "Here, There and Everywhere," "If I Fell," and "In My Life." Happily, no surprises there. But Thomas takes the feverishly adolescent exuberance of "She Loves You" and transforms it into a lovely, achy, mature love song. It’s a completely fresh reading and beautiful -- and it’s pure genius....Thomas offers plenty of other fodder for discussion, but there’s no denying his fine guitar work. And his new arrangements of old classics allow us to chew on some chestnuts with fresh ears.
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Two great cds of Beatle music by an accomplished guitarist
author: Craig Garrett
These two cds are such fun. Alan Thomas is obviously an accomplished guitarist. His arrangements of the Beatle tunes are musical, imaginative, and dead-on. Two of my favorites are the tongue-in-cheek, but still striking "She Loves You" and the lovely tremelo study "Because." Anyone who likes guitar music and/or the Beatles should want this cd set.
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