Matthew Fagan – One Day in Nashville

CD review by Chris Spencer

When the editor passed this cd to me to review, my first thought was that one of the Fagans had released a solo cd! Duh! Matthew Fagan is a guitarist from Melbourne who prefers to play in a Spanish or flamenco style.

This is his third cd, he has also recorded with Solstice which is a more jazz orientated trio.

While the title might suggest this is an album of country tunes, whereas the title refers to a studio in Nashville where the album was recorded.

This album consists of 12 instrumental tracks, but two contain medleys of different songs.

Fagan mixes up the songs, including a couple of originals (“A Woman’s Lament”, Renaissance”), some traditional (“Amazing Grace”, “Tocatta” & “Malaguena”), and some contemporary ‘popular’ covers – two songs of the Beatles, a Sting song (“Fragile”) and an elegant cover of a Cyndi Lauper song – “Time after Time”.

“Ashokan Farewell” has lots of those squeaks when the player moves his fingers over the strings – is there a musical term for this?!

The songs that I enjoyed the most, were the Beatles’ cover “Blackbird” which seems to suit the guitar perfectly, and the two medleys – one an Irish/ Celtic consisting of “She Moved Through the Fair”, “The Boys from Blue Hill” and “Abdull the Celtic Camel”, the other an English one – comprising Greensleeves, “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You”, the George Harrison song “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” and an excerpt from the classic “Stairway to Heaven”.

Fagan has wisely included some well known tunes so that the listener is not alienated, choosing melodies that people will know and appreciate his arrangements and playing.

If you’re into classically inspired guitar playing, you should be interested in purchasing this cd.