Does anybody remember the Californian Guitar Trio? This is a musical group which started in 1987 when three students, Bert Lams (Belgium), Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards (USA) met for the first time. The objective of the band was not only to create complex compositions but also to arrange and recreate classic or Baroque music and even to cover the Californian surf tunes. However all of their music was performed on acoustic guitars. Now in 2025 I came across an act with the name Might Could and their album Wood Knot. This band and their album made me think about the previously mentioned trio because the music on their album is also performed on acoustic guitars and a bass guitar. Strangely enough Wood Knot was originally already released November 20, 2007. However only as a download version. Now 18 years later it gets a release on CD thanks to ProgRock.Com's Essentials. This way more people can enjoy what the guitar players Andy Tillotson, Tim McCaskey, Aaron Geller and bassist Luis Nasser almost 20 years ago came up with. On this almost 50 minutes long album the song writing was done by by AT (3, 5, 6, 8) and AG (1, 2, 4, 5, 7). Together they wrote music which at first hearing evokes the acoustic albums made Steve Howe, Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips. And of course the Californian Guitar Trio. Album opener Dance Of The Woodfires for instance sounds a lot like a composition taken from one of Steve Howe's acoustic albums. On the other hand the following piece with the title Not Every Sequel Finds A Name reminded me of the guitar intermezzo which Gentle Giant or later on Spock's Beard did during their live performances. On stage they did a kind of duel or battle between two guitar players. Then again the next piece River Of Crows moves more towards classical music. Strangely enough follow up Synecdoche starts as Barracuda one of the hits released by Heart in the seventies. Next up Lágrimas De Cera is a short more classical sounding tune. I guess they could not get enough of the guitar duel. Because Vietato Fumare is another kind of guitar duel/ battle between the acoustic guitars. On the follow up it is as if they plugged in one of the guitars into a amplifier. Because next to acoustic guitar an electric guitar seems to come out of my speaker when I listen to Malice. Therefore, it made me think about the band Sky. They also had members in the band that played on acoustic and electric guitars. The album ends with All That Remains. The longest track on the album again made me think about the earlier mentioned Sky. And please wait until the end of the track. The band has some spoken surprise waiting for you! The band released more digital albums in the past. Namely All Intertwined (Aug 2005), Relics From The Wasteland (Aug 2013), The N.E.S.F.A.N. Trilogy (Dec 2015). I wonder if those releases will be released on CD one day. I hope so, because Wood Knot certainly has some fine musical moments which will bring a lot of enjoyable moments to all lovers of progressive rock out there. Even if the music is instrumental and mainly performed on acoustic guitars. There is still enough to enjoy I can tell you! So please check this out and enjoy the excellent musicianship of Tillotson, McCaskey, Geller and Nasser. Highly recommend to those who enjoy the acoustic albums released by Steve Howe, Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips. And of course, the Californian Guitar Trio. **** Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
