The Barbary Coast Guitar Duo (2005)

by floranteaguilar January 17, 2015

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Album Info

Heart-stopping guitar duo arrangements of classic rock songs in the style of JS Bach, Scarlatti, Bartok, Spanish dances and flamenco and other classical forms!

From the Liner Notes:

"In their previous lives, Sir Paul was Domenico Scarlatti, Lennon was J.S. Bach, Sting was Schubert and Hendrix was Bartok. So we postulate.

What we attribute to as cleverness of today's rock & roll composers is not due to some substance-induced state but rather the result of reincarnation of the greatest composers in the history of music. It was their inner Stravinsky pounding away.

The Liverpool lads' strict observance of 17th century counterpoint? Uncanny. Their effective application of voice leading and text painting? Masterful. Sting's gift for naturally flowing melodies are straight out of a Schubert lieder. And what to make of Hendrix's liberal use of ancient scales like pentatonic and mixolydian? You can't convince us that was arrived at independently by a man from the late 20th century.

Call us overly-educated conservatory grads but after intense musicological research, we conclude that these composers are one and the same. Still don't believe us? We dare you to listen and prove us wrong!"

Florante Aguilar and Michael Walsh, classical guitars