Bayard Island Music
Joël Fafard : ...and another thing... (CAN,2003)***'
This is almost like two albums in one. One part is the guitarist with band, the other half is Joël solo. On the band stuff the guitarist doesn’t grab the attention much. Instead the guitar compositions are more used for band performances, with even more often attention given to the jazzy violin / viola improvisations by Richard Moody, while the somewhat unnecessary accompaniment of Gilles Fournier on bass keeps it a bit too simple, between bluegrass, countryfolk and swingjazz, bringing the level a bit down to simpler rhythms. This way the music sounds very accessible, fresh and friendly, but also more mainstream than creative. When not plugging the rhythm too much I like the bass better. Although the music is just fine as it is it is because I hear the creative core of Joël’s solo material that I would have preferred another approach. Joël’s style is strong enough to exist on its own, or in close counter of slide effects combined with violin/viola progressions. When they are exploring this, even with its smoothness on the band stuff, like on “Mesquite Morning” or at a few other places, I think this works out better. On the solo work I hear that a bit of tabla or hand percussion on just a few tracks wouldn’t be a bad addition either even when it isn’t really necessary (like perhaps on the fluent “Shut of the Car (solo)” or “Auckland Express (solo)”). Still I think Joel’s trio arrangements are more modest than the solo style really deserves. The solo works for me were just perfect as they were, clear and strong without more addition.
