Waiting for a Dancer

On this disc, his Red House Records debut, Adrian Legg is in his usual form. He continues to make his work of two hands sound as if it were the work of four or so. These songs are all written by him and from what I've heard of him on National Public Radio, they reflect his personality. They are a blending of country, folk, jazz, a touch of rock, and a smattering of classical music delivered with a no nonsense approach. He seems to have a predilection for the waltz and most of his compositions reflect this at some time or place. The tunes are elegantly delivered out to the listener with touch that seems to soar off the face of the earth. He combines a dazzling speed and precision, with a penchant for string bending that will often make the listener shake their head and wonder, "Is this really the work of only 2 hands?" His sound is full and rich, and makes one sure that there is an ensemble playing. There is a rich variety to his material, so though portions may seem to be familiar they are just touching bases before soaring off on another display of virtuosity. His stylings remind me of the work of Rainer, who though much more blues flavored displays the same type of technical virtuosity, and soaring imagination. Adrian Legg's work most definitely has a more commercial appeal. This is a very beautiful disc. Why, I wonder, are all these discs coming out with 'hidden tracks'? Why hide them?