It’s hard to be original these days. Market over-saturation, media reluctance to buck the trend, lack of guitar heroes… lots of factors seem to keep the carbon copy guitarists at the forefront while many of the truly exceptional players languish in coffee shops and book stores.

Every time I get a CD from an independent guitarist looking for a review, I always wonder whether I’m getting a crappy xerox clone of some “famous” player, if I’m going to get a nice enough player that entertains but doesn’t blow me away, or if I’m going to be knocked out of my seat by something that I wasn’t expecting.

There is always a moment when I first put in a new CD that I take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and wait for the ride to begin. For the most part I’ve been pretty lucky; all of the CDs so far have been good. So when it came time to put in the CD “Guitar Duo” by Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic, I was almost expecting it to stink just because my track record thus far has been good. Seems like I needed one in the bust column just to keep the balance. The question is whether or not this CD was goign to be the one to do it.

After having listened to the CD a few times I can safely say that the Kapsalis/Ivanoic CD is, in a word:

Fantastic! Amazing! Brilliant!

(Sorry, I just couldn’t keep it to one word.)

I was simply not prepared for Guitar Duo to be as good as it is. A mixture of nylon and steel-string acoustic guitars, Kapsalis and Ivanovic explore a very wide range of what is possible on the guitar through their original compositions. Pretty much everything I love about guitar has been written and recorded here. Hints of Villa-Lobos, Fernando Sor, modal jazz, and even smatterings of Damnation-era Opeth teased my ears on this ten-song CD.

Andreas Kapsalis and Goran Ivanovic

It’s obvious that both guitarists have done their homework and spent enormous amounts of time woodshedding to perfect their craft. Fingertapping, flamenco rhythms, beautiful counterpoint, percussion tapping, and harmonically sophisticated arpeggiated chord patterns are all present here. They compose a perfect blend of styles and influences, keeping each song fresh and interesting. Technical ability notwithstanding (which they both have in abundance), these guys know how to use their abilities not to merely show off but to create complex yet easily-accessible music to listen to and enjoy.

This is a CD for the active music-listener. I don’t think you can put this on and expect to concentrate on an important project; there is simply too much good music here to remain a passive listener. Guitar Duo is the natural progression (and them some) of what DiMeola, McLaughlin, and DeLucia were doing back in the 80s, though no one has successfully pushed the genre forward effectively… until now. I have been waiting for a CD like this to come out for a very long time.

To date I think this is the CD I would recommend the most to guitar enthusiasts. While all of the CDs have been excellent, Guitar Duo stands out as a true masterpiece and should be in every guitar-lovers library.

For more information, visit the website for the CD.