That Nashville SoundBites- Steve Wariner- Guitar Laboratory

That Nashville Sound receives many different CD releases throughout the year from indie, bluegrass and artists just off the mainstream radar- or smaller projects like EPs- that we’re doing short mini CD reviews on. We call them That Nashville SoundBites- it’s a feature that will allow us to give some props to some albums and artists that deserve a spotlight on their work.

The Review:
Except for a couple hoop and hollers on “Sugarfoot Rag,” some spoken French by Je Ne T’oublierai Jamais, and a couple of encouraging interplays between he and Paul Yandell, there’s nary a word spoken on Steve Wariner’s latest album Guitar Laboratory. Guitar aficionados will treasure the very skilled Wariner passionately sharing his love of masterful guitar picking. The styles range greatly from jazz influences to even a little Aerosmith(ish) rocking out with his son Ryan Wariner. Non-guitar aficionados will probably struggle a little more with the album, not because it isn’t interesting, but because they’ll long for the interesting things Wariner has brought to the table previously on tracks such as “Holes in the Floor of Heaven.” Here, they might feel that they're just geting half the story.

Sounds Like:
Brad Paisley’s Play

Stand Out Tracks
Sugarfoot Rag (featuring Leon Rhodes)
Tele Kinesis
Sting Ray (featuring Ryan Wariner)

The Verdict:
Three stars out of five