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Waxed - Record Review from Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007

Viktor Krauss

II (Back Porch)

By

Reference points for this second release from longtime Lyle Lovett bassist Viktor Krauss are plentiful — Daniel Lanois, Bill Frisell and Ennio Morricone all spring to mind — but somehow Krauss comes off as more original than derivative. Employing effects-laden guitar and synthesizers as their primary instruments, Krauss and his small ensemble craft jazz-tinged, soundscape-ish arrangements weighted with substance. Instrumentals comprise half the disc, and that’s where Krauss shines brightest. The radiant “No Time Like The Past” finds Krauss and fellow guitarist Dean Parks creating the antithesis of the prototypical guitar duel, weaving their six strings instead into a thrilling tapestry. Likewise, the loopy space-jazz excursion “Pinky Ring” sounds like something from Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow, had Beck been accompanied by a twin brother. Less effective are the tracks that feature vocals — the Shawn Colvin-sung cover of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond”, for instance, veers toward muzak — but the occasional lapse hardly diminishes the album’s cinematic flow.

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Originally Featured in Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007

Cover of Issue #68 Mar-Apr 2007

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