Amazon.com In 1948 Leo Fender and "Doc" Kaufmann invented the Telecaster electric guitar. A slab of wood with some magnetic pickups, it remains one of our most expressive musical tools. Guitarists from Roy Buchanan to Jeff Beck to Robbie Robertson have wrenched from it a wide range of pure emotion--from whispers of love to screams of anguish. Tele-wrangler Jim Campilongo has fit easily into this august company for some time now. On this record he once again exhibits a combination of aggressive squalling, sharp wit, sensitive melodicism, quirkiness, and compositional skill, all with using a musical language that is uniquely his own. Norah Jones, who has run in the same musician circles of New York, helps out on the country standard "Sweet Dreams" and the aching waltz "Stella." Whether conjuring up feline sounds in "Cat Under a Car" or wry regret in "Bought Some Swampland in Florida," Campilongo has mastered the rare art of telling stories without words--so much so that the addition of Jones's poignant vocal to "Stella" seems almost an afterthought. --Michael Ross
Product Description San Francisco Bay Area guitarist Jim Campilongo is back with his special brand of instrumental guitar music featuring guest superstar/Grammy winner Norah Jones on two tracks. Guitar Magazine in January of 2003 said about Jim 'Nobody weaves together jazz, blues and country with the silky finesse of Jim Campilongo,' and 'bends emanate from his weathered Deluxe Reverb like ghostly wails from a haunted castle. There are spirits in those licks.' - Jude Gold
A Crazy Person - and that's GOOD!!!February 7, 2008 Cassandra Merry(Westford MA.) Yes, a tele player. I play one too. This guy is a master. The record has a feel that says, "I've been playing for so long, I'll just do what feels good"... Campilongo works in every possible thing you can do with a guitar into his selections, from wild bends to harmonics to moving the neck and the sounds that are delivered are beautiful to wild to humorous. If you're a player, you need this record. If you're not a player you still need this record but for different reasons than if you were a player. Go for it...
I never grow tired of listening to this albumMarch 14, 2007 Juline A. Koken(New York) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I get completely lost inside this album and find myself dancing all over the kitchen every time I put it on. This was my first Jim Campilongo cd, and since fallling in love with his playing, I've gone on to collect all his albums. Heaven is Creepy is my other favorite.
So far, I've given this album as a gift to friends, my grandfather, my mom, and of course myself- it's a testament to Jim's brilliant playing that such a diverse group of people have all loved discovering his music.
American Hips ShakesMarch 25, 2005 Kylerjoe(New Jersey) Jim with a new band members Dan Rieser and Tim Luntzel, drums and bass, give listeners a good dose of Ameracan contry, blues and jazz.
The album starts with an up tempo number and moves in and out of fast and slow tempo numbers.
Nora Jones is a guest on two tracks and the band dose a great job in supporting her vocals.
While Jim can rock out, his ballads are thick and dreammy. You get lost in them and are taking away, (Swampland in Florida)
Jim also does a cover of the Beatles Michelle. Jim dose a lot of slow twisting in this song making it his own.
I feel that Jim is one of the better, brighter, guitar players on the scene and all of his albums are worth checking out.
Good combinationJuly 15, 2004 Phoebus Franca(San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I'd highly recommend this album for fans of Norah Jones. The two on which she sings are wonderful...worth the price of the album. Campilongo's accompaniment is just right. I hope Norah sings on more of his albums! The rest of the record has some good stuff, ranging from hard bluesy rock to spacey Chris Isaaky sounding stuff. In any case, he is a darn good guitar player. Update: I saw him in concert at The Living Room in NYC with Tim Lunzel (bass) and Dan Reiser (drums)....great. If you have a chance to see Campilongo live, you'll see a master who's better live than on record. But the record's sounding even better now.
I like Jim. You do too.February 15, 2004 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Jim's latest record is fantastic. If you are unfamiliar with his work, this is a good one to pick up. He's kinda got a Luther Perkins meets Dick Dale thing happening in terms of his approach - but that doesn't really make sense does it? Luther and Dick are pretty different in their approaches. Sorry.
Anyway, he plays with a lot of restraint on the record, but throws enough licks at you to let you know he's a monster on his instrument. He's friendly to guitar heads and also to the rest of us as well
Norah Jones' vocals on the record are great too. Stella is a beautiful, beautiful tune - one of my favorites she's ever done.
You should check Jim out at the Living Room if you come to New York City. It's a good time.
