CD REVIEW: Rick Duke – “Second Son”
By Stacey Board - 04/22/2003 - 07:16 PM EDT
Artist: Rick Duke Album: “Second Son” CD Review:
Within the first 30 seconds of listening to this CD my ear was completely captivated. Rick Duke’s acoustic guitar playing is outstanding. It is beautifully melodic, rich and compelling. Hats off to his skill AND to the recording job – its not easy to get a great recording of an acoustic guitar and it's very easy to get a bad one!
“Blue Heaven” is especially hypnotic, excellent playing here and a wonderful mood. I admit I may be biased having spent some time in “the southern part of heaven” but he captures it here very well. Duke includes two instrumental ‘cover tunes’ and another cover, but in my opinion his original instrumentals outshine everything else on the CD.
The CD includes vocals and lyrics on 5 out of 11 of the tracks. The title track “Second Son” is ‘dedicated to all victims… of 9/11” and is the strongest of the non-instrumental songs. It has the most unique melody of his original songs and his best vocal performance.
Anyone who enjoys great acoustic guitar playing should include Rick Duke’s “Second Son” in their collection of new favorites.
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