Songs Of Naka Peida
Peggy Green
Independent release, 2000
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/12/2001
Say the words "acoustic resonator guitar," and most people wouldgive you a stare like a deer caught in a car's headlights. Say"dobro," though, and more people might recognize what you'retalking about. Yet dobro guitar work isn't something you hear a lotof anymore. Sure, it's still present in some blues and countrymusic, but for the most part, your chances of hearing a dobro areabout the same as Eminem being the grand marshall at a gay rightsparade.
Then, there's Peggy Green. Her album Songs Of Naka Peida, is a different approach to bothacoustic resonator guitar music and to new age music. This isn'tfancy picking to show off one's skills. This is music that comesstraight from the heart and the mind, and challenges the listenerto allow themselves to be taken on a journey that has no set pathnor an easy flight. It's hauntingly beautiful.
If I've read Green's story correctly, she has suffered someinjury to her hands which keep her from playing acoustic guitar inthe way you or I would be used to. Instead, she has shifted herattention to pedal dobro guitars, which allow here the ability tocreate music that crosses all rules and boundaries. In a way, whatshe creates is a mournful blues, but she's also able to paintmental pictures with her music that could illustrate a sunrise asmuch as a lightning storm.
It's a different experience, to be sure - and it's not alwaysthe easiest musical style to embrace. It took me a few attempts toget through the disc's opening track "Fair Affliction" before thelightbulb went on and I realized just what Green was trying to getacross.
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