Menage a Moi
Wendell Ferguson
Wendell Ferguson has garnered quite a following, seemingly as much for his great sense of humour as for his high-quality guitar playing. A quick glance at the cover of his latest CD (his fifth, I believe) tells the story better than words.
Humour aside, Wendell has been a busy guy recording this CD. Besides his acoustic guitar he plays electric guitars, bass, tambourine, drums, shakers, congas, pop can lids, Martin hole (?), castanets, slinky (!), brushes, keyboards, and programming. In fact, the only other musician present is Marilyn Magyarosi who plays chimes on Save Your Fork and Happy-Go-Lucky.
Right from the opening flourish of Mayor of Loserville you are put on notice that this is going to be straight-ahead fingerstyle guitar, with a "band" of Wendells to add backup. If you are a fan of fingerstyle these tunes will sound instantly familiar, so well has Mr. Ferguson imbibed that style. This country-flavoured tune is a real jolt of caffeine to get you in the mood.
Merle Jam (another pun-ny title) riffs on the style of Merle Travis but still with lots of the Ferguson wit. This is another foot-tappin' country tune with full band backing up both electric and acoustic guitars. Wendell has obviously studied his country licks, and aspiring pickers will find a lot to learn on this one.
The Uptown Blues shifts gears a bit into a funky country blues groove. These are pretty joyful blues, played with gusto and style. Who says the blues have to be sad?
Save Your Fork, There's Pie begins with a gentle wash of harmonics perfectly accompanied by chimes, before sliding into straightforward fingerstyle, or at least as straight as Wendell Ferguson can be! There is a lot of good humour here as well as some impressively blistering triplets. The cascades of chords in the middle hark back nicely to the opening, and they lead into some very cool arpeggio work. You could be forgiven if at times you thought you were listening to Chet Atkins!
Another tune that feels instantly recognizable is Happy-Go-Lucky. In some ways this CD could be considered an anthology of fingerstyle techniques, and this song certainly demonstrates several of them. And what a fine contrast there is in the middle section! Lots for songwriters to learn here.
The title song Menage a Moi is surprisingly pensive, at least at the outset. Unable to keep his ebullience in check though, Wendell soon has his fingers flying, lifting the original song up to the sky. Then we are treated to more cascading arpeggios that lead us right back to vigorous fingerstyle. Not content with just these ideas, Wendell tosses in some fine single-line playing before ending with ringing harmonics.
Barely have the harmonics stopped when we find ourselves into The Dirty Dish Rag. True to its title, this is a fun ragtime tune with just a few modern touches to keep it interesting. Unlike some one-man bands, Wendell has the musical sense to give the different instruments the spotlight at different times, adding a nice ensemble feel to this solo effort.
Surely it is no coincidence that we go straight from The Dirty Dish Rag into Clean Sweep! This is a rollicking country-folk tune that moves with gusto. And is that a reference to a very popular song's opening in the middle? Listen and decide for yourself. I somehow find this one similar in feel to Tommy Emmanuel's Countrywide, although they are completely different songs; they seem to share that same vibe.
Cheeky turns a corner into a jazzy shuffle which is a fine contrast to the two previous songs. There are more bluesy solos here, but very much jazz-inflected. This one has lots of single-line soloing to remind us of Wendell Ferguson's versatility (as if we had forgotten!).
Powder Keg brings us back to the land of fingerpicking with another foot tapper that feels immediately familiar even on first hearing. While the whole CD is very well recorded the guitars on this one sound somehow richer and more sparkling.
The same beautiful guitar tone starts off the appropriately-named Chimin' the Blues. Once again these are joyful blues, and Wendell treats us to some of his best lead solos as well as to whole sections in harmonics. A great ending to the CD.
Fingerstyle and country enthusiasts will want to check out this CD. You can support Wendell Ferguson by buying it directly from his web site at http://www.wendellferguson.com/pg1_frm.html
There is even for for those of you in or around Toronto. Wendell will be hosting a party for the official release of this CD on March 25 at Hugh's Room (the same venue that is hosting Laurence Juber on May 26). You can save by ordering tickets in advance from Hugh's Room at: http://www.hughsroom.com/calendar.html