There are too many Roger Lasleys and at the same time there aren't enough. Lasley is a fine flatpicking guitarist who writes nearly all of his own material, and who produces his own CDs -- seven of them since 2001. Such prolificacy evinces a (well-placed) faith in his own talents and the determination to keep on keeping on, writing new music and continuing to hone one's craft while at the same time sharing his work with those savvy enough to seek it out and with taste enough to appreciate it.

I say there are too many Lasleys because there are hundreds, even thousands of musicians of this high caliber who are doomed to be heard by only a small if appreciative audience, and I say there aren't enough because of the huge vapid pit that's laughingly called popular music in this country. The caliber of Lasley's playing and compositional skills should be sufficient to get him a berth on a small independent label, but no one ever said life is fair. Perhaps he's better off producing himself, writing and playing the things he wants to, and reaching an audience who enjoys work created without the fetterings of commercial claptrap.

Lasley's first three CDs (and I'll be reviewing his latter four shortly) are of consistently high quality, and I'd advise guitar aficionados to pick them up for the music and other players to grab them for the wealth of new tunes which they might readily borrow (with proper credit, of course) for their own repertoire. Despite being solo guitar albums, there's a lot of variety, as may be seen in the first few tracks of the first album, What Cheer Road. Lasley goes from a simple waltz to a strong rhythmic tune to what sounds like finger-picking arpeggios. "That Manicured Look" is the first of many tracks with two guitars. These occasional multi-tracked duets add richness and a fuller sound to the mix. Lasley has a flair for the traditional, as in an intricate "Brown's Ferry Blues" -- he keeps lot of balls in the air on this one -- and in his inventive variations on "Frankie and Johnny."

Lasley's playing seems stronger on his second album, Duck & Let the Wave Go By. The first track portends a more serious approach to his compositions, and "Landscape with Children" continues the complexity, a very quirky and unpredictable tune. There's some program music here, with "Combat Waltzing" a vivid depiction of clunky feet dancing, and "Trying on Shoes" humorously portrays the struggle of trying to fit too big feet into too small shoes. The last track, "Freddy in the Congo," is a dandy duet that keeps on rolling despite the odds. There is the occasional tune, like "Dance of the Snowflakes," that seems almost too simple for Lasley's chops, single-line work with a regular chordal accent, but these pieces, though not as exciting, contrast nicely with the more difficult and intricate tunes.

Dinner on the Ground seems even more assertive and self-assured. Lasley breaks some new ground in the blues-based "Sidestep," which also is tinged with jazz. "Fool's Gold" is a more stately tune than any we've heard before, sounding as though it came from the 18th-century repertoire. The deft use of harmonics makes it sound in spots like a harpsichord, and the classical sense is equally strong in the composition's use of theme and variations. The sole disappointment here is "Jerusalem Ridge," in which the Bill Monroe tune is simplified and its more jagged and interesting edges smoothed out, but the CD ends perfectly with a hopping boogie-woogie style tune, "Guitar Bounce."

There are plenty more tracks on Lasley's first three CDs, 47 in all, and he's written the lion's share and then some. His compositional skills are strong and his playing is more than fine enough to give aural life to his inner musical visions. For the continuing story of top-notch guitar picker Roger Lasley, watch this space.

by Chet Williamson
Rambles.NET
21 January 2006

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