Search - Alex Bevan :: Springboard

A great album by an amazing singer/songwriter/guitarist.

John S. Ryan | Silver Lake, OH | 05/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had this album when it was first released as an LP and Alex Bevan was just making a name as a popular opening act at the Blossom Music Center near Cleveland, OH. It's long been one of my favorites and I just recently discovered -- to my great delight -- that it's available as a CD.Bevan is simply an amazing performer. It's not just his brilliant acoustic guitar technique and string-popping pyrotechnics (longtime fans will recall that -- partly owing to his use of open tunings and partly because he's just super-hyper-ultra-coordinated -- he can change a broken string with one hand _while playing with the other_, talking to the audience the entire time, and never miss a beat); it's not just his clear and golden voice or his engaging lyrics. Live and onstage, he's also a comedian with a maniacally funny stage presence and just a personable guy all around. (And you'll hear some of that on his signature tune "Skinny," on this album.) He's released a few live albums over the years, but this one is still, to my own mind, the one that best captures what he's like "live" -- perhaps oddly, since it's a studio album! But studio recording or not, most of the songs feature just him and his guitar, sometimes overdubbing himself (he was unplugged when unplugged wasn't cool). And especially on these tracks (though also on the three cuts in which he's backed by other musicians), there's a freshness in his performances which anyone who has ever seen him onstage will recognize but which, for some reason, seldom seems to come through as well on his live releases.At any rate, this album isn't _only_ for Northeast Ohioans who know Bevan already. Anybody who enjoys solid acoustic music will like this one. And it might lead you to check out some of his other releases (of which _Grand River Lullaby_ is still my own favorite, next to this one).(And even if you still have your original vinyl release of _Springboard_, this one features two cuts that didn't fit on the original. Me, I think they left off the right two -- but they're not bad, and they're of at least historical interest to longtime Bevan listeners.)"