On his latest release Paris goes all solo for the first time with a collection of a dozen ditties ranging from beautiful to down right bluesy!  In a rare cover he performs a stunning arrangement of "Norwegian Wood".

Martin Paris, "Acoustically Speaking," Solid Air Records 2012

Martin Paris is a fine fingerpicker, as revealed on "Acoustically Speaking," his third solo recording. It's fitting that Paris is playing a Martin OMC-LJ28 on the opening cut, "Acoustic Attitude." The tune reveals several elements (walking baseline, chord patterns) that reflect the stylings of Laurence Juber, the inspiration for that Martin model and obviously of this piece, even down to Juber's common DADGAD tuning. Paris does well in matching the titles of his songs to their feel. For example, "Low Resistance" is meant to show that even in life's trials, there are better days ahead. So the guitar whines and moans with string pulls and call and response treble and bass parts to reflect our common lot with a hope that all isn't dark. "Twenty Seven Ocean View" contains some lush chordal work augmenting a sweet melody. The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" – covered by hundreds of players – gets a lively arrangement. You can tell Paris is a Beatles fan. "Liam's Lullaby," written for his first grandchild, is a sweet melody full of warmth and light. We even get some funky 12-bar blues on "Deja Blues." Paris understands the dynamics of a fine steel string guitar with its shimmer and sustain, and uses it to good effect on most all the songs on "Acoustically Speaking." This is really a disc of life, love, and faith, and Paris infuses his playing of these 12 tracks with the personal quality all good music possesses.
© Kirk Albrecht  MINOR7th.com