Unfortunately this recording is the last possibility to listen to these three musicians playing together: Rod Poole has been murdered in the 2007. This Vignes is the recording of the concert in Los Angeles to the Downtown Playhouse the 26th of July 2003 and in the back of the cd it’s proudly written “This Music Is Improvised.” All three musicians risk venturing themselves in the microtonal universe that the British guitarist Rod Poole had obsessively explored, playing on an open tuned instrument played with a violin’s bow. All three the musicians don’t belong to a musical tradition, having set aside from a long time concepts as “musical genre.” Well yes, Cline is known for being the guitarist of the Wilco, but saying he plays rock music would be a very limitative way to describe his job. McAuley has a more folk sound, but also this category doesn’t belong to him. And Poole apparently lived in a world of his own. “Vignes 1″, the first long improvisation, starts in calm way, in a rather conventional way, but then it changes into a hypnotic and strange, dark and bright piece where structure and rhythm are progressively remised for the exploration in pure sound, even if not always recognizable, of the guitar. “Vignes 2″ returns to an atonal, but at the same time rhythmic improvisation with waving and dense sequences. “Vignes 3″ brings the Acustic Guitar trio on adventurous paths, with Poole playing the bow on his strings. He doesn’t play as Jimmy Page or Raoul Björkenheim, but his sound has at times a sharp quality, almost painful, at times beautiful that doesn’t certainly leave indifferent.
Even if this music certainly is not for all the tastes, the musical explorations of the trio and the new perspectives offered by their acoustic guitars deserve a circumstantial listening and I am proud that has been produced by the Italian label Long Song Record
chitarraedintorni.blogspot.com talks about Vignes
Andrea Aguzzi