Duet for Guitars #2

by M. Ward

Overview

Originally released in 1999, M. Ward's debut is a sparse, mostly live affair recorded with pal and engineer Adam Selzer of Norfolk & Western at Type Foundry Studio in Portland, OR. Listeners who are already accustomed to Ward's breathy, conversational vocal delivery and soft-picked, West Coast Americana melodies will find much to love here, while those looking for good entry point should probably start with one of his later albums. Duet for Guitars #2 is peppered with instrumentals in the John Fahey and Bad Timing-era Jim O'Rourke vein, and Ward's lackadaisical picking sounds just as lazily precise here as it does on future recordings. There's a real warmth to the sessions that transcends the often bare-bones production. For the most part, it sound like most takes were done live with two microphones, with the occasional overdub, and that style suits Ward's dreamy tales of molasses-slow teenage summers ("Beautiful Car") and oddball parables like "Fishing Boat Sons." It's also interesting to hear him shedding the inflections of some of his more obvious heroes like Neil Young ("Who May Be Lazy") and Bob Dylan ("It Won't Happen Twice"). Duet for Guitars #2 sounds like a debut. It's got some filler and it tips to the lo-fi end of the scale more often than not, but it's brimming over with promise and timelessness. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	01/26/2024
Label:	Merge
UPC:	0673855030111
Rank:	30485

Album Credits

Performance Credits

M. Ward   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar
Carlos Forster   Vocals
Adam Selzer   Mandolin,Percussion,Dulcimer

Technical Credits

Adam Selzer   Engineer