This isn't a group of folks fingerpicking. It's one person playing a multitude of guitars. And this is very much modern composition, much more related to Philip Glass than Phil Ochs. It's just that these compositions happen to be facilitated by guitars, many of them astoundingly effect-laden.

Tim Brady/Instruments of Happiness Imagine Many Guitars (Redshift Music)

There is an element of "couldn't you have done this easier with multiple instruments?" here, for sure. Brady has a mind built for exporatory composition, and he likes the versatility of the guitar (especially the electric guitar). And he's obviously very good at assembling everything into a wildly inventive whole.

Every once in a while a spare guitar line pops out to sketch out a theme or to simply provide a modest bit of clarity. This is part of the composing process, and Brady has a wonderful ear for finding the right place for each sound.

Could these pieces be transcribed for band or orchestra? Yes. But they would necessarily sound more traditional. The mutability of sound that an electric guitar (with effects) is capable of providing exceeds that of most other instruments, though I have heard some avant-garde accordion that comes close. This one is for those who want to venture out to the edge of modern music, and anyone else who is interested in shredding their sense of what's possible.

Jon Worley