I’ve never been the biggest fan of the Grateful Dead (sorry, everyone!), but Spain-based guitarist Damia’ Timoner makes me want to become one. The nylon stringer takes the Dead songbook (mostly form Jerry Garcia’s pen) and gives gorgeous and personal reads with the care of a master craftsman.
The liner notes specify which albums Timoner takes the songs from, as you know there are many versions of these tunes. The strings are rich on the deep and resolute “Ramble On Rose” and “Brown-Eyed Woman” while “Built to Last” and “Touch of Grey” are chiming with joy and hope. “Operater” is homespun and intimae, while “Blow Away” is graceful and folksy. Melancholy moods are strummed on “Loser” with some nice improvising by Timoner taking place on the imaginative “Dark Star”. This guy is truckin’!!!