Various Artists, Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel Guitar (Horse Rock Records, 2002)

The lap steel guitar is incredible indeed. It is maybe the most basic stringed instrument ever. It looks like...well...a two by four with six strings attached! That's it. Add a pickup or two, a tone control and a volume knob, plug it into an amplifier and away you go. It's tuned to an open tuning, so if you have a piece of steel, or a bottleneck, or a socket wrech, and strike the strings...open, slide to five, open, slide to seven, you're playing the blues. The incredible lap steel guitar...basic...but not easy to play well. The fourteen players who appear on this collection may not be legends yet, but after listening to the variety of sounds and styles they coax from that block of wood, they soon will be.

When Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel Guitar first arrived, I expected to find such players as Sol Hoopii, Jim & Bob (the Genial Hawaiians), Roy Smeck, Tau Moe and Bud Tutmarc. Instead, this is a collection of newer recordings; a new generation of guitarists, influenced by those originators, who are taking the plank in new directions, squeezing out every bit of emotion and sound. Gary Brandin starts off with a haunting, orchestrated piece entitled "In the Dark." It has a simple beat and bass line, over which Brandin uses every sound that the lap steel is known for to create a mood piece; a soundtrack for an unmade movie. Harry Manx uses a converted Martin D-35 to play the gospel-blues "Only Then Will Your House Be Blessed." This Canadian guitar player is extraordinary; he has studied in India, and plays the mohan vina as well as a number of slide and bottleneck guitars. Relaxed yet precise!

"There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight" features Bobbe Seymour, playing the Hank Williams classic on a 1953 Epiphone Single 10 Lap Steel. This tunes shows off the traditional country sound of the instrument. Blues, movie music, country...is there no end to the wonders of this instrument? Orville Johnson provides the answer on "Mardi March," which combines a 1936 Style 45 Dobro with a jazzy combo. Slide guitar versus slide trumpet and slide trombone! No slip-ups, just sliding!

Bob Brozman takes us back to the 30s with an authentic guitar duet on "It Happened In Monterey." Brozman's National Tricone and Woody Mann's lead guitar make magic together. Greg Leisz follows with a tribute to Santo & Johnny's "Sleepwalk;" he calls it "Santo's Dream" and while it echoes the original, it creates new images of its own. Spooky and beautiful.

Perhaps the Legends are not only the players, but also the wonderful historic instruments used on each track: 1951 National Dynamics, Carson Wells Steels, Harlow, Dobro, National Resonators, and more. Guitars from 1930 play alongside new custom-made models and all are recorded (and played) brilliantly. The sounds that come from these instruments have an otherworldly presence. I was entranced.

As the owner of both a 1955 Gibson lap steel and a mid-70s Dobro Resonator myself, I appreciate every note, every nuance, every country lick, every echo from the classics. Tom Morrell honours Leon McAuliffe with a version of "Steel Guitar Rag," and Herb Remington pays tribute to the absolute master, Sol Hoopii, with a fine rendition of "Hula Blues." Stacy Phillips heads into classical territory on "Flambee Montalbanese," and Kayton Roberts pops things up with a perky "Bells of St. Mary's." That's right...the Bing Crosby tune!

There are a handful of performers I haven't mentioned but suffice it to say this album doesn't have a bad track. If steel guitar isn't your cup of tea, then you won't be much attracted by a title like this; but if you've heard the lap steel on someone else's record, on a country song or a bluegrass record, and want to hear what else it can do...Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel Guitar is certainly a good introduction, and a fine addition to the library of slide guitar albums in my own collection!