With Songs Of The Martin, Kevin hands the listener a beautiful and eclectic collection of guitar music, from pop standards that will be familiar to every ear to more classical pieces.  Kevin’s guitar playing will definitely keep even the most casual of listeners enchanted.

The album opens with a true classic: Lennon/McCartney’s White Album tune,  “Blackbird”.  This song gives the listener all the proof needed to know that Kevin is a master at his craft. If a song like “Blackbird” is played as an instrumental and it still retains its integrity, then it is being played well.  In this case it’s being played more then well.  It seems as though the guitar is singing the words.  Kevin and the Martin pay

proper homage to the classic track. Another familiar tune that Kevin gives the royal treatment to is “What A Wonderful World,” a song made famous by the inimitable Louis Armstrong. It’s hard to listen to this song without hearing that bluesy voice singing, but Kevin and the Martin turn it into a lullaby.

It’s not the pop tunes, however that catch the listener’s ear the most. The simple “Etude 22” by Napoleon Coste draws  you in with the intricacy of the fingering.  The music played is light and airy and at times gentle.  “Vals En Re” is another classical composition that McCormick tackles. Composed by Francisco Tarrega, this guitar waltz will conjure images of senors and senoritas dancing the night away.

Regardless of what type of music Kevin is playing, be it a jazzy number like “I’ve Grown Accustomed To Your Face” or something folksy like Elizabeth Cotton’s “Freight Train”, the listener can’t help but be impressed. Probably the most stunning track chosen for this album is Steve Howe’s “Clap”, which has roots in ragtime and country blues.  The Irish anthem “Danny Boy” is such a sad tune, but with the way Kevin plays it some of the melancholy is lost and it seems more hopeful.  On songs like this it’s easy to imagine Kevin lovingly caressing the strings of the Martin.  The playing comes across as soft, almost whispering into the ear.

After only one listen it’s easy to tell that Kevin McCormick is a man who not only has a great talent but is comfortable with playing a variety of styles. With music on Songs Of The Martin spanning two hundred years, he certainly had numerous compositions to choose from and it seems that he’s chosen the best of the best.

Let yourself be drawn into the beauty of seventeen songs played on a guitar that is over one hundred years old. It’s a listening experience that shouldn’t be missed.

Review by Andrea Guy