Bill Cooley CDs

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In this post about Kathy Mattea at Joe’s Pub, I mentioned that I thought that Bill Cooley was possibly the best acoustic guitarist I have ever heard. I’m glad I said possibly, because only four days later, I saw California Guitar Trio at BB King, and as my post on that concert attests, all three of them are amazing as well. I haven’t changed my mind on Bill, I’m just glad I allowed for others to be in his league, by adding possibly. 😉

So, as I reported, I immediately ordered both of Bill’s CDs. I was lucky enough to have Bill himself respond to my email, and he informed me that his first CD, Unravel’d, was officially out of print. He offered to burn a copy for me, and he also had the original artwork for the CD cover, so I would be getting nearly the same experience as purchasing the original CD. (Yes, folks, I paid for that, so don’t think Bill is or should be giving anything away!).

I ordered two sets of each CD, so that we could give one away as a gift should the urge hit us.

Both CDs just showed up a little while ago, and I was like a kid at Christmas unwrapping them. Having the burned CD is an extra treat, because Bill hand wrote the title of the CD and his name, and on one of the two, it’s more like a signature, so I have a signed copy of his original CD, which I would not have had if I had bought a shrink-wrapped original. Cool!

The range of music on Unravel’d is impressive, and his playing is exceptional throughout. As the styles change, so do the variety of instruments that accompany him, including horns, flutes, harmonica, drums, etc. Bill picks, strums, uses a slide, sometimes all at once (no, I’m not kidding), and it’s simply gorgeous. I’ll be listening to this CD over and over, it’s a real treat!

The newer CD is A Turn In The Road. The first song Butter Fingers is really cool, and is a nice double entendre. Obviously, Bill is anthing but a Butter Fingers in the classical sense of that meaning. Of course, his fingers are as smooth and rich as butter, so that part applies. 😉

On the second track, Uno Tuno, there is both a really good electric guitar playing, as well as a superb acoustic one, so I’m not sure if the song is dubbed, and he plays both, or if someone is accompanying him on the electric guitar.

The third track, The Voice Of The Wind is in a more classical guitar style (and you know how much I love that!), accompanied only by violins (or some other strings, cello, etc.). OK, OK, I’ll stop describing each individual song.

Obviously, even though there were seven years between the release of these CDs, Bill didn’t lose his touch. A Turn In The Road is gorgeous as well!

According to Bill, his third CD will be coming out in 2008. I for one, can’t wait!

I checked the Tour Dates section of Bill’s site, and nothing in the near future can really be worked into our schedule. That said, one show in particular really intrigued me, and I’ll mention it here, since I have a number of buddies who live in Minneapolis.

Kathy Mattea (and therefore Bill!) are performing with the Minneapolis Orchestra on December 21st, in a Christmas Concert. Aside from an opportunity to see Bill live, this sounds like a special opportunity to see Kathy perform her magic as well. If you can be in Minneapolis on December 21st, you should lock in your tickets now! 🙂

Anyway, you just have to love it when you look forward to something as much as I was looking forward to getting Bill’s CDs, and not being disappointed when the day finally arrives! 🙂