---

:: Bye Bye Blues ::

:: Little Liza Jane ::

Joe Maphis had himself some manual dexterity. The man could play anything stringed with ridiculous velocity and amazing precision, kind of like a runaway player piano. Though he is often remembered as a session man, he did put out some albums with his wife Rose, and a handful of solo albums t'boot. Fans of high octane country pickin', such as Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West, Roy Clark, or even Junior Brown, would do well to seek out Fire On The Strings.

Hi-Fi Holiday For Banjo, featuring his talents on the tenor banjo, came out in 1959. Side one displays his virtuosity just fine, but the numbers don't really allow for him to let loose, and these dusty old standards are just hokey enough that even with some blazing finger work, they don't really grab your attention. (Camptown Races, anyone?)

Side two, however, is full of jaw-dropping, high speed strummin' and a pickin'. Some of it is so fast it kinda sounds like a CD skipping. The irony! I can't seem to find out who backed Joe on this album, but whoever played the piano was one ferocious tinkler. There's something about music this fast, yet so clean and precise, that really kicks my ass. Fuck Yngwie Malmsteen, give me Joe Maphis any day of the week.


Tony

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 15, 2006 at 3:47 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.