TYLER GRANT - IN THE LIGHT [December 2006 issue]
FGM Records
FGM 120

Appearing as this does on FGM Records (the recording arm of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine) and also having heard some of Grant's work as a guitar sideman with the Drew Emmitt Band and as a TwoStringer with Casey and Chris Henry, it's not a stretch to imagine, as I did in those first few moments after this CD arrived, that this was to be a guitar album. Well, it is and it isn't.


No doubt about it, the guitar does take the central role. Many of the tracks have multiple guitar solos and Grant selected five instrumentals, including the traditional tunes "Grey Eagle" and "Half Past Four," a cover of Bill Monroe's "Lockwood," and two originals, "The Naked Guitar" and the arpeggiodriven "Azalea." Each and all reveal a talented soloist possessing a smooth, even tone, a clean picking style, and a varied attack that goes from Brad Davislike percussive to Tony Ricelike fluid..in an instant. The cover of "Half Past Four" recalls David Grier's "I've Got The House To Myself" CD in the way that both keep a constant wall of sound, supporting the melody with a liberal use of strums and alternating picking and drone effects. Much of the same can be said of "Grey Eagle," particularly in Grant's attention to the droning low strings.


What makes this not a guitar album is finding Grant predominantly in the role of singer and songwriter. In both of those roles, he gives a solid account of himself. Of his seven vocal originals here, the cajuninfluenced "Angela" and the bluesy, lightly stomping "Solitary Man" stand out for me. "Solitary Man" is the strongest and fits well with what seems to be a foursong, subtheme of getting away from it all: "Come On Up The Mountain," "Goin' Back To California," and "Far Away From There." All of these and the rest of the vocals are delivered in an Americanastyle lead, of which Grant knows the range and never overreaches. Excellent guitar playing is the lure, but there is much to like throughout. (FGM Records, P.O. Box 2160, Pulaski, VA, 24301, www.fgmrecords.com.)BW