David Grier: Evocative

David Grier has been a hero of mine as long as I’ve been playing guitar. I spent many hours attempting to learn Eye of the Hurricane. So I was excited to hear his newest CD Evocative.

David had been talking about this recording for a long time and I was eager to hear it. He told me it was different, so I wasn’t surprised 24 seconds into the first song to hear the drums and electric guitar enter the mix. What I wasn’t prepared for was the unique mixture of David’s signature acoustic sound along with banjo, fiddle and other bluegrass sounds, woven together with drums, electric guitar, accordion, wind instruments, etc.

Evocative was released back in June of this year and has had all kinds of labels attached to it. Some have called it “daring” others “innovative.” I call it “Davidative.” There’s really not another word for it. It’s just David. You’ll either love it or hate it, depending on how open you are to things outside the bluegrass norm.

It’s not bluegrass, though David himself has trouble escaping the bluegrass in his blood. You can hear the grass coming out on every track, and I doubt very much that David would have it any other way. He just took the liberty of adding some new spice to the soup, so to speak.

Each song is different, some are quite and contemplative, others are playful and bounding with energy. Some are solo guitar, others are a full ensemble cast of musicians and instruments. The supporting cast of musicians is as diverse as the arrangements. Evocative features a line up of musicians from the likes of Stuart Duncan, Noam Pikelny and Victor Wooten to Jeff Taylor, John Gardner and Paul Franklin.

Regardless of mood or arrangement, David always applies the appropriate touch to his guitar. His tone is fantastic and his creativity is in full swing.

If you enjoy good guitar playing, you’ll want to put your ear on this one.

Here’s a couple little samples of the sounds you can expect to hear on Evocative.