On his third CD with his eponymous trio, Marc Atkinson plays sinuous lead
lines on an oval-soundhole Selmer-style guitar while rhythm guitarist Chris Frye
plays impeccable rhythm on a D-soundhole model. But unlike most guitarists who
use those distinctive instruments, Atkinson and Frye are not trying to re-create
the Hot Club jazz of Django Reinhardt. Instead, along with bassist Joey Smith,
they play a bit of swing, a touch of blues, a dash of country, and huge helpings
of top-drawer picking. Atkinson, who wrote nine of the 12 tracks here, is an inventive
composer. Tunes like "Cinque Terre," which updates a Parisian café-style
melody with a percolating Latin rhythm, or "String Bustin' Blues,"
with its finger-twisting mix of twang and blues, show he's confident enough
to flirt with different styles without succumbing to pastiche. But it's when
he moves away from standard forms, as he does with his oddly angular "Deirdre,"
a short tune that teeters on the edge of dissonance, that he reveals a truly original
voice. (Pacific Music/Warner Music Canada, www.pacificmusic.net)
- Michael Simmons
Acoustic Guitar Magazine, 2006