As a follow up to his holiday album Hi-Fi Christmas Guitar, Joel Paterson will release a collection of vintage instrumental, guitar-centric covers of songs from the Beatles' catalog, entitled Let It Be Guitar! Joel Paterson Plays The Beatles. The album - out on September 20th - features the guitarist's signature blend of vintage jazz, exotica, blues, rockabilly, western swing and country, and uses classic Beatles songs as a sonic template for the mid-century musical journey. The album's pre-order link is live on Joel Paterson's site.
In addition to the announcement, a sneak-peak stream of the song "Michelle" was launched today via the label's site. Listen below.
Let It Be Guitar! showcases fresh new arrangements of these familiar tunes, employing a wide variety of musical styles and guitar sounds, paying tribute to Paterson's biggest influences including Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Jorgen Ingmann, James Burton, Buddy Emmons, Ernest Ranglin and many more. Paterson and his accompanying band will perform at least three shows to promote the release: SPACE in Evanston on September 21st and The Green Mill in Chicago on November 22nd and 23rd.
Of the inspiration for the album, Paterson says, "This is the guitar record I've always wanted to make. I love the Beatles and their artistry and attention to detail in the recording studio-and I love all-things-guitar. So, I had a great time diving into these amazing songs, coming up with my own arrangements, and at the same time paying tribute to some of my favorite guitarists and vintage recording techniques of yesteryear."
The album's liner notes were written by singer/songwriter and fellow vintage appreciator J.D. McPherson and give further explanation of the project, "Each of Joel's interpretations of these songs are concise, genre-bending, stylish tone poems, mixing both Joel's and the Beatles' own century-spanning inspirations into one zesty musical stew. Contained within certain tracks, you may even find nods to OTHER instrumentalists who have delved into the Beatles' body of work... It's almost the meta-sonic equivalent of a Liverpudlian Rube Goldberg drawing."
Recorded in Chicago at Reliable Recorders and at Paterson's home studio, Let It Be Guitar! features Joel on guitar, pedal steel, and lap steel; Beau Sample (Devil in a Woodpile, The Modern Sounds, The Fat Babies) on bass; Alex Hall (The Flat Five, The Western Elstons, The Fat Babies) on drums; and Chris Foreman on Hammond B3 organ.
One of the busiest musicians on the roots music scene today, Paterson can be heard playing with The Modern Sounds, The Joel Paterson Organ Trio featuring Chris Foreman, Devil in a Woodpile, The Western Elstons, and many other Chicago-based projects.
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