THE CRIMSON GUITAR

After hearing Fernando Perdomo's full length album "Out to Sea 2" released earlier this year, and with the sort of lukewarm feeling I got from it, I wasn't necessarily looking forward to new releases from him, but seeing that he has taken on King Crimson tracks, and the choices he made to cover on an acoustic guitar, I was interested once again.

"The Crimson Guitar" is what the alternative title says it is, A Tribute to King Crimson. The tracks are all fairly short, thus taking the main melodies of the songs and playing them quite perfectly on a solo classical guitar. And, wow, they translate over to that solo medium so well, and Perdono plays them with an obvious love for the melody. He selected some perfect melodies to be played by his thoughtful guitar. There are the obvious choices like "Islands", "I Talk to the Wind", "Book of Saturday" and "Peace (A Theme)". But then there are some that are not so obvious like "Starless", "Prince Rupert Awakes", "Erudite Eyes" and "The Court of the Crimson King". But each one is played with quite emotion and respect for the melodic aspect of each one.

"I Talk to the Wind" also includes part of the instrumental theme incorporated into the solo version and "Formentera Lady" does the same to an even larger extent, adding in some percussive taps on the guitar to add forward movement to the main melody. "Starless" is the longest cover here at 4 minutes, again using the instrumental themes as well as the vocal melody, utilizing the lower strings to recreate a bass line to keep the acoustic guitar version moving during the places where the melodic notes have a longer duration. Of course, in this cover he only treats the first part of the song, as to attempt to do the long instrumental section would have probably resulted in mess, however, he does start to lean into the bass pattern of it before it fades.

Most of the tracks here stay around the 2 to 3 minute range, there being 10 tracks and only 22 minutes of run time on this EP. But that is okay because much longer may have worn out the welcome, it ends up being the right length in both the individual tracks and the overall length.

Perdomo says that he wrote these arrangements when he was a tween, just discovering the music of King Crimson through his first purchase of the music which he bought out of a discount bin. The 3 albums that introduced him to their incredible music were "Lizard", "Islands" and "USA". Obviously, he must have loved what he heard, because there are tracks not on these albums, so he must have gone back for more. The fact that he is recording the same versions he arranged back then as a man now approaching 40 years old is pretty amazing. The covers really do what they were intended to do, to emphasize the beauty of these tracks, but also the complexities that are laid bare in these solo renditions.

These are very enjoyable tracks and the EP definitely shows Perdomo's respect and love for the melodies that are included on here. The stripped down versions are gorgeous, and definitely honor and respect the work of King Crimson. I have a new respect for this artist from this simple EP, and easily rate it with 4 stars.

It isn't a new idea to undertake a work which is dedicated to covers of already known and loved songs, but it is somewhat unusual for one person to take the music of just one band and translate it into the classical form. Again, this isn't exactly without precedent, and while everyone is fully aware of the many full-blown orchestral attempts over the years (some of which have been incredibly successful, such as David Palmer's work on the likes of Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, others not so much), there have actually been a few other attempts with far less bombast, and I am still a huge fan of the two albums by Yngve Guddal & Roger T. Matte where they translated Genesis for two grand pianos. But, racking my brain and my personal library I cannot think of another quite like this.

Here Fernando Perdomo combines his love of classical guitar and King Crimson to create something which is a worthy tribute, and successful on all counts. One thing I particularly like, is that this recording does contain a few slight fluffs, which allows me to think that each recording is solid without any drop-ins or overdubs. Indeed, with the resonance of the strings it would be hard for that to take place. Ten songs, with a total length of just 25 minutes, this is a delight for any fan ? as to whether it works for those who don't know any of the pieces I am unable to judge, as this is like meeting old friends who are familiar, but somehow quite different as well.

Fernando Perdomo says of the release: "'The Crimson Guitar' is my passionate love letter to the amazing King Crimson music that fascinated me when I was first learning classical guitar in my early teens? I created these arrangements with the upmost respect to the music and legacy of the band. My hope is to bring light to the delicate beauty of the songs". I think he has achieved that with some ease, as these are a delight, making them somehow more original and also inviting the listener to go back to the original albums and compare the two. Sheer class from beginning to end and essential for any fan of King Crimson.