Songwriting partners Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had an almost unprecedented run of pop hits, from "Hard Times," recorded by Charles Brown in 1952, to Stealers Wheel's 1972 smash, "Stuck in the Middle With You." In between, they wrote classic songs for the Coasters, Elvis Presley, the Drifters, and many others. This collection presents 15 of their most popular compositions, played with plenty of variety by Solid Air's roster of stellar acoustic guitarists. On tracks like Nick Charles' "Stand By Me," and Mark Hanson's "Kansas City," and "Searchin'" by Alex de Grassi, the intersection of the composers' classic hits and folk-based picking yields a new, yet accessible hybrid. Arlen Roth, Laurence Juber, and Elliot Easton use chicken picking, power chords, single-string leads and other rock techniques on "Charlie Brown," "Poison Ivy," and "Love Me," respectively. Also in this vein are "Love Potion No. 9'" by Al Petteway, "Bossa Nova Baby," by Greg Hawkes and "Jailhouse Rock," by Eltjo Haselhoff. Doug Smith's harmonically rich, delicate arrangement of "Fools Fall in Love" shows yet another approach for steel-string players. Wayne Johnson fuses rock, jazz, and blues on the driving "Ruby Baby. "On Broadway" is played by David Cullen in a fingerstyle jazz setting, illustrating some of the technical and tonal possibilities available on a nylon-string instrument. Mike Dowling grabs his National resonator guitar to rework "D.W. Washburn," giving us an idea of how Blind Boy Fuller might have played jazz. "Hound Dog," by Kenny Sultan, takes the listener deep into the country blues. Doug Smith and Mark Hanson wrap up the set with "Yakety Yak," played as a duet, quoting Boots Randolph and Chet Atkins, then briefly recasting the tune as a fugue before their final statement of the theme. Although Leiber and Stoller claimed that they wrote records instead of songs, these instrumental versions succeed in part because the songs are in the popular music canon and resonate strongly with the listener. This is one of the most consistently satisfying of Solid Air's tribute anthologies. Guitarists should watch for a forthcoming printed folio of the arrangements.
© Patrick Ragains