Sonny Sharrock ‎- Guitar (1986) FULL ALBUM

Enemy Records ‎– EMY 102 (US, 1986) 00:00 A1. Blind Willie 04:41 A2. Devils Doll Baby 08:48 A3. Broken Toys 15:27 A4. Black Bottom 19:23 B1. Kula-Mae 24:31 B2a. Princess Sonata: Princess And The Magician 28:36 B2b. Princess Sonata: Like Voices Of Sleeping Birds 31:45 B2c. Princess Sonata: Flowers Laugh 33:58 B2d. Princess Sonata: They Enter The Dream Recorded and mixed at RPM Studio, NYC Personnel: Sonny Sharrock – guitar, production Bill Laswell – production Guitar was viewed by Sharrock as the culmination of a period in his career spent developing his sense of composition. After releasing his first record—Black Woman—in 1969, he experimented with different influences during the 1970s. When he recorded “Dance with Me Montana“ in 1982, the song’s chord progression changed his perspective on composing and inspired him to pursue more melodic ideas. “You listen to [it], and it’s like a blind man struggling to get out of a room“, Sharrock recalled. “Guitar was a crystallization of all of the things that I had discovered in that song.“ In the early 1980s, he had also worked on projects with Material, an experimental band fronted by Bill Laswell, who helped Sharrock produce the album. This is pure, undiluted Sonny Sharrock. Taking advantage of the overdubbing process, Sharrock accompanies himself in a series of duets that demonstrate the range of his playing, from menacing to tender. The songs are fairly simple; a brief introduction and chord statement lays the foundation, then Sharrock flies about on top of it. The purity of his tone is both powerful and beautiful. “Broken Toys“ is almost like a lullaby after the flying shrapnel of “Devils Doll Baby,“ where Sharrock shows off his dizzying, visceral slide guitar technique. “Black Bottom“ is his take on the blues. “Princess Sonata“ is a beautiful suite that encompasses all these aspects of his playing. Guitar makes a nice counterpoint to both Seize the Rainbow, a more rock-oriented release, and Ask the Ages, his reunion with Pharoah Sanders. Bill Laswell deserves some credit for revitalizing Sharrock’s career in the ’80s, and for sympathetic production on all three of these recordings. Guitar is a beautiful statement by one of jazz music’s most unique voices.