El MeMeen - Acoustic Guitar at it's best

I am ashamed to say I hadn't hear of El McMeen before last week. Today is a beautiful Fall Saturday afternoon in Georgia and I am sitting on my deck, a lemonade iced up to the rim, my laptop on my knee and outside the leaves fall in a gentle breeze, reds and browns and bright gold. On the stereo is the same Mr McMeen plucking away on his guitar and making this whole afternoon a very pleasant and mellow experience.

El is based in New Jersey and first started playing guitar at college. For someone who started an instrument at college age he is certainly showing a very natural and extensive talent. His big interest is in Celtic music and there are many beautiful renditions of Irish and Celtic tunes on this album. The whole thing kicks off with The Humours of Ballyloughlin a great old tune and sets the misleading scene of sweet Irish guitar. The guitar playing is sweet but the tunes are not all Irish. This album take us from The Tears of a Clown into The Kid on the Mountain and straight back into There is a Rose in Spanish Harlem without making any excuses whatsoever. And why should there be any excuse? This is a lovely collection of great melodies and I have said for a long time that a good tune will stand up in any arena and when they are played with this level of sensitivity and dexterity you cannot go wrong.

The album is called Dancing the Strings- Celtic to Contemporary and is available by visiting El's website at http://www.elmcmeen.com

Get yourself a copy. You may need it for a sunny Fall day or a romantic mean for two.
Enjoy