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 |  Ash GrunwaldLive At The Corner Head/MGM Ash Grunwald is a legend. Whatever it is, he's got it. He's a great guitar player, but better than that, he's an intelligent guitar player. He's the only guitarist in his one-man band, and he generally plays a national guitar with a slide and a Boss Loop Zone pedal, so he could be excused for using the spotlight to try and impress people with his natural dexterity, and in so doing bore them to tears. But no - he never overplays. Never. He just gives to the song everything it needs, and my God, does it give back. The sound he is able to get is just extraordinary, it goes right up your spine and out through every limb. And not one note is out of place. Then there's his voice. This could not be learned: he was born a blues man. The blues emanate from his larynx like the fluorescent glow from a nuclear power plant. That deep growl, that wise intonation; that's Ash Grunwald. And he knows it. But what's important about this album is that he delivers the goods live, in front of an audience. His last record, 'I Don't Believe', was recorded live in the studio; this time he's cut out the middleman and just released a show he did at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne. Many of the tracks on this album also featured on his last, but that doesn't detract from its value. I hope he releases many of his albums in this live format in future - I don't think the studio necessarily captures all of the intensity of this guy as a performer. Ash Grunwald is a legend.  | |
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