Frank Matheis-thecountryblues.com…
and then there is this guy in the desert down in New Mexico! They got good blues on each side of the Mississippi, but New Mexico is not exactly known as a Mecca for our favorite genre. It’s a place more famous for Polka based Mexican Norteno and Cojunto accordion music than the blues. Hirsch embodies the universalism of this music and proves that you can find amazing blues no matter where you go.
Stan the man, a fine blues player, will stop you dead in your tracks, mesmerize you on the spot and make you gasp or air from hyperventilating. Whenever blues fans eventually find their way to Hirsch’s blues, with just the right combination of incredible technique and heartfelt feeling, they are amazed that he is not yet internationally famous. Not to say he hasn’t gotten around. Indeed, he’s played some of the great festivals, but his profile is still not as high as it belongs. He’s one of those intimidating players that, just as you think you are getting good at the guitar, will make you walk out the gig with your head hung low, feeling unworthy to carry his guitar case. Cruel, but awesome.
There are a lot of people playing the acoustic blues. That’s the celebration and point of this website. Among them are a chosen few fierce and fiery players that evoke direct comparison to the original masters. John Hammond, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Paul Geremia come to mind. Not because they necessarily emulate the old blues songs note for note and mimic the originals, but because they play with a combination of passion, true-grit feeling and virtuoso mastery. Hirsch is every bit as good as the best of his peers, but lesser known, and he surely should be considered as one of the best, if unsung, blues musicians in the USA.
Even though he is an acoustic bluesman, Stan Hirsch is strongly influenced by Jimi Hendrix. He often features Hendrix in his repertoire—a sensational mix of deep roots, real true blues with Hendrix-drenched acoustic guitar mastery. How can that be wrong? Rock god Hendrix was a bluesman just the same. Yet, Hirsch will satisfy Country blues purists with his covers of the traditional blues master, which he performs with his own unique style drenched in guitar artistry.
No matter what he plays he gets attention for his soulful virtuosity and mastery of a wide range of acoustic blues styles. Hirsch plays his blues with a funky, energetic essence and a harrowing sense of tension.If his CDs are not yet in your collection, or if you have a chance to see him, Stan Hirsch is all that!
Local IQ
Friday,03,2009
ONE TAKE BLUES
The latest album by local blues guitar legend Stan Hirsch is reflective of an artist who has seen it all, done it all and graciously passed it off to the next generation
By Michael HenningsenThrough the ebb and flow of the last 30 years of Albuquerque music, few things have remained constant. El Rey Theater. Natural Sound. Putnay Thomas’ blues program on KUNM. Encore Music. Stan Hirsch. Not only has the latter constant weathered the years in what has sometimes been (musically speaking anyway), the Land of Disenchantment, he’s actually gotten better with age. And, perhaps, most importantly, he has always shared his unique gift as a music educator with countless young local guitar slingers — people with stars in their eyes and a desire to unlock the secrets of the six-string.
Most notable among Hirsch’s students is Eric McFadden, who, along with longtime Los Angeles-based session pro Tim Pierce, is Albuquerque’s preeminent guitar legend. And none of it would have been possible without Stan Hirsch, who’s been content to play and sing a form of acoustic blues that dates back to a time when Robert Johnson was recording music to tinfoil.
Hirsch has made a handful of recordings himself over the years in a variety of incarnations, but his best records have always been those truest to his preferred method of live performance: one voice, one guitar.
Compelled to Play, Hirsch’s latest 12-song outing, is as close as one can get to experiencing the journeyman blues purveyor live without leaving the comfort of one’s own home. Compelled to Play was recorded live, each song captured in a single, first take. Anyone who has ever experienced the recording process already understands the monumental achievement therein; those who haven’t will just have to trust that single-taking an entire album is close to impossible, save for the most studied, seasoned musician.
The song choices and sequence on Compelled to Play are as captivating as Hirsch’s ultra-spirited treatments and arrangements — Elvis Presley’s “Mystery Train,” John Lee Hooker’s “Baby Please Don’t Go,” Robert Johnson’s “Walking Blues” and Muddy Waters’ “Got My Mojo Working” are placed carefully among a set of highly evolved original material.
Hirsch isn’t so much playing the blues here as he is channeling them. It’s a rare musician who can echo and approximate the original intent of a song while making it unmistakably his or her own. Hirsch is one such artist. He growls, howls and whispers his way through Compelled’s dozen tunes with brazen determination and, on first listen, an almost disquieting sense of soul baring. Hirsch sounds like he’s singing in your head; you can almost see him seated, guitar balanced on his left leg, hunched over the microphone. It’s intimacy to the nth degree.
With the vocals in the driver’s seat here, it takes a little time to begin to absorb the subtlety and nuance that informs Hirsch’s left-of-center guitar work. Working percussive thumb picking into feverish crescendos and then cascading out into careful, sinfully beautiful arpeggios is just part of the recipe: Hirsch fleshes out the songs with minor key inversions and chord figures that, for most players, never get past glimmers of what’s possible with five fingers manipulating six strings. In that regard, Hirsch’s guitar prowess is simply on a higher plane. But he’s also supremely gifted with the ability to make virtuosity palatable to even the most casual listener.
Compelled to Play is the latest chapter in the Stan Hirsch saga, and one that begs your full attention. No slick production, no outside accompaniment except a brushed snare and finger snaps on one of his originals, and, most assuredly, no bullshit. It’s Stan Hirsch at his finest — compelling enough that anyone who hears it will leave the couch for the club.
BLUES BYTES–Terry Clear Stan HIRSCH - Compelled To Play 2009
At last, a long awaited new album, Compelled To Play (Blue Falcon Music), from Albuquerque’s guitar master Stan Hirsch. Unusually, Stan Hirsch includes some good cover versions of blues standards, done in his own inimitable style, whereas most of his earlier albums were all original work. He still includes some songs of his own, but he covers “Got My Mojo Working,” Walking Blues,” Baby Please Don’t Go,” Mystery Train” and “On The Road Again.”
I have to admit that I had to play this CD a few times to get a handle on what it is that Stan Hirsch is doing here – his previous CDs have been pure enjoyment based on their simplicity of good blues. I’m pleased to say that I didn’t give up, and after a few plays it came through to me – this is a musician who is his own man – he can take an old standard and completely change it to his own style, without losing the flavour of the original – a bit akin to what Eric Clapton did with Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads.” It might take a while to get a the idea of what Stan Hirsch is trying to do, but persistence is worthwhile and you’ll get a lot of pleasure from listening to this album.
I’ve never heard “Got My Mojo Working” done as slow as this before, and the first time I played it, I thought, “What is this?” After a couple of plays I found that the song had a whole new slant on it, and that is the same for the other covers, too – not one of them is a direct copy of the original – refreshing!
Of the original numbers, I would buy this CD for “Guilty Of Boogie” alone – I’m fearful that I might wear out this portion of the CD.
If you haven’t heard this man before, then you’ll probably get the point a lot quicker – I had preconceptions from listening to earlier albums and from seeing him play live. But if you haven’t heard him, then take this opportunity because here is a guitar master at work!
Sonic Reducer
Stan Hirsch Compelled To Play (Blue Falcon Music)
Stan Hirsch doesn’t need anything fancy. He can take a beat-up guitar and an amp on its last legs and produce the best blues music in Albuquerque. The recording process for Compelled To Play consisted of Hirsch sitting down, picking up his guitar and playing. He didn’t attempt multiple takes or add backing tracks—nothing that would compromise the live feel of his record. Hirsch is a beast on the guitar, acoustic or electric, and his respect for honest, unfiltered craftsmanship runs deep. Whether reinterpreting Robert Johnson or fingerpicking through one of his moody originals, Hirsch’s intimate understanding of his six-stringed companion is on full display. (SM)
CD Reviews on CD Baby page Please log in to review the album.
saviours : god,allah and stan hirsch
author: richard beck northern ireland
when this man plays its the same as finding the heavens. the joy and complexity through this style leaves one gob smacked. when this man speaks we should all listen, and await the encore. when this man lifts his guitar we should all rejoice and say thanks to : “GOD, ALLAH and STAN HIRSCH” !!! dont beleive me? listen to this music then you will see from whence you were blind. 157/10
this gut is kickass
author: bluscea
what can i say? Stan manages to play his guitar with ease and put the rest of us to shame. Hendrix changed how we play the guitar, then stan took the baton and pressed ahead even further. This music will leave you gasping for air like a fish out off water.
stan the man
author: Sam(spain)
Sounds great,only a miracle helps Stan´s strings hold together! A must for acoustic blues lovers and guitar music in general.
This guy’s an absolutely incredible guitarist.
author: Taylor Harvey
I bought this CD about 2 years ago from The Man himself when it was released in Albuquerque. I remember sitting in Club Rhythm and Blues being absolutely mesmerized by what Stan was doing on his guitar. You could close your eyes that night and believe you were hearing two or even three guitars playing, but when you opened your eyes again there was Stan, sitting alone on the stage making all this sound come out of a black Harmony 6 string and a small, cheesey-looking (by today’s standards) amp from the 50’s. No question about it, as his tones came through the smokey air and surrounded your ears you knew that Stan Hirsch is the Real Deal. You think you’ve heard the best acoustic blues around? Buy the CD. Don’t think, just buy.
Back to web site: http://www.stanhirsch.com/press
