Splendid

Actually, I must admit that I heard this work before Coryell/Catherine's first collaboation, Full House. And, I still like this one even better! I think this one rolls along better because of the occasional use of electric guitar, and one song even has a pianist. That slight versatility makes this album a more pleasant listening experience. Of course, the original "Twin House" was an excellent work that is purely acoustic guitar duets by Coryell and Catherine, two monster talents in jazz guitar. And the acoustic sets all work well. Their prowess is displayed admirably. This album, "Splendid", is just as impressive a display of acoustic guitar duets. However, I like the song selection better on this album over TH. Splendid is also better because the two mellow songs featuring Coryell on acoustic & Catherine doing beautiful, melodic electric guitar work adds a different flavor to the album. And the song with 2 acoustic guitars and one piano is also a wonderful addition that adds a pleasing texture to the overall album. So to wrap this up, Twin House was very good, but this album had a better song selection, was a bit more instrumentally versatile, and was just a better album! Four, almost four and a half stars!

Any solo instrument can start to sound tedious after 40 minutes regardless of how beautiful it may sound during 4 minutes, but I could listen to the two (mostly) unaccompanied guitars of Larry Coryell and Phillip Catherine on this recording for several hours! Hearing "Splendid" again (finally available on CD) is a reminder of the principle that how musicians listen to each other is more important than how many notes they're playing. The interaction between the two guitarists is so fine-tuned as to be almost telepathic and there's so much diversity of style: from the modernistic dissonance of "One plus two blues" to the elegiac and haunting "Quiet day in Spring" (with help from the fretless bass), and yet there's a unity of form to the recording. "Splendid" rekindled a love of the steel string acoustic guitar for me and (along with Michael Hedges' "Aerial Boundaries") helped validate it in my mind, as a powerful solo instrument again.

I'm so happy to see that this album is finally available on cd. Having worn this LP out when it was released almost 30 years ago, the music still sounds fresh today. The first three tracks are my favorites, One Plus Two Blues is a Coryell composition based on the 1+2 scale. It moves along at a good clip and features intricate yet playful melody and soloing from both Coryell and Catherine. Snowshadows is a slow, beautiful piece, again penned by Coryell, that features Catherine on fretless guitar. Transvested Express is an amazing Catherine composition that features changing time signatures, massive chording, intricate melodies and great soloing. Listen to the electric version on "Back Together Again" and then listen to this version. It's a great composition either way.While these guys are both great guitarists, Coryell has been a lifelong influence on me and I think this album along with European Impressions (of which sadly on side two is available on the Tributaries CD), Standing Ovation and Twin House all stand the test of time as amazing collections of top notch composing and guitar playing.Highly recommended.

Great album shipped fast and safe.

Following the success of TWIN-HOUSE, Larry Coryell and Phillip Catherine returned to the studio (this time in Hamburg, Germany) to record the follow-up SPLENDID. One of the highlights is the bluesy Coryell original "One Plus Two Blues." Another standout track is their performance of Jimmy Giuffre's "The Train and the River," which slowly gains speed until the final few bars when they reference Jimmy Forrest's "Night Train." Also of note is the inclusion of Catherine's use of a fretless electric guitar on "Snowshadows" and "Father Christmas" to wonderful effect. In addition, they perform one track, the stately "Deus Xango," with guest musician Joachim Kuhn on piano. And of course, they again include a loving tribute to Django Reinhardt with his gentle "My Serenade." Overall, this is a successful follow-up. And almost thirty years after its original release, it still sounds as fresh as the day it was released. [Running Time - 39:39] RECOMMENDED