Vol. 2: Solo Acoustic Guitar

ecorded before his move to New York City in the late 1970s, Solo Acoustic Guitar, Vol. 2 ably presents an early blueprint of Eugene Chadbourne's mission. Though it is without the comic political consciousness he would deliver later, this disc captures Chadbourne's early avant-garde acoustic explorations. The music is arrhythmic and jerky, with little sense of time. Often times, his playing is so percussive that it hardly sounds like a guitar at all. Indeed, many of the instruments Chadbourne uses on the release are heavily modified acoustic guitars, strung with nylon, cello, harp, and steel strings. Where there is melody, it comes in discordant bursts. The disc is at its best when it delves into minimalism. For the most part, the songs are overly dense. Little pieces of them can be incredible in isolation, but listening to the entire disc can be a challenge if one does not already have a predilection for atonal chaos. ~ Jesse Jarnow|