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LP
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FTR 438LP
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"Proud we are to reissue the final piece of Willie Lane's original Cord-Art LP trilogy. It was recorded in various spots throughout Western Mass, in the years following the release of Guitar Army of One. Initially issued in 2016, in an edition of 350, this lovely session disappeared into the fog of the forest before most folks were able to catch its scent. Now it has re-emerged with re-interpreted cover art by Max Milgram, and sonics we think will please even the most finicky listener. A Pine Tree Shilling's Worth is my personal fave of Willie's first three Cord-Art LPs. It has a hazily unstoppable flow, incorporating elements of American Primitive and Bay Area Ballroom-era string greats in equal measure. Mostly played on electric (although there are some acoustic overdubs), the music manages to be abstract and melodic at the same time, with individual lines splanging off in oddball directions, then reasserting their formal qualities inside a single musical breath. The specific quotes that exist inside the playing are crafty, episodic and display a strange syncretic streak. A nice example of this is the sprawling track, 'New Arrivals,' on the first side. Lane manages to obliquely reference both John Fahey's improvisations for the soundtrack of Michelangelo Antonioni's film, Zabriskie Point (1970), as well as Jerry Garcia's work that was used in place of the bulk of Fahey's music after he and the director had a savage falling out. Willie reconciles their differing approaches to blues architecture with mighty slide playing and sheer dint of will. Rumors are currently swirling that Willie's next Cord-Art release will have vocals, so this three pack of instrumental genius may well be the primary documentation of one phase of this maestro's aesthetic trajectory. Hope you've got them all." --Byron Coley, 2019
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LP
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FTR 437LP
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"Remastered reissue of the second brilliant Willie Lane LP released by Cord-Art, originally available (for a few moments, anyway) in 2012. Guitar Army of One is a bit less folk oriented than its predecessor, Known Quantity (FTR 413LP), in as much as there's more electricity and pedals being employed. But Willie's playing at this time was such a weird hybrid -- from quiet country blues passages to blown psychedelic bong-wash in the blink of an eye -- that no technique or approach was ruled out. Everything was permitted. Which led to some mind-bending results. As the album's title infers, Willie is on his lonesome this time with nary a collaborator in sight. But the sounds he layers on tape can be so complex (not unlike some of the work by his occasional running partner, Matt Valentine) that one gets the sense this the sound of Willie Lane playing duets with himself. Recorded in Philadelphia, shortly before he returned to Western Massachusetts to become, like the fictional Jesus, a carpenter, Guitar Army of One is a superbly satisfying spin. From the Heldon-esque vibe of 'Ill Star,' to the damaged canoodling of 'Rare Psych For Wayne' (which is also in the running for best Record Scum song title of the 21st century), there's a strange surprise around every damn corner. A monster of a record." --Byron Coley, 2019 Edition of 500.
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LP
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FTR 413LP
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"Newly remastered reissue of Willie Lane's 2009 solo guitar LP, Known Quantity, originally released on his own Cord Art label. Over the last few years, this album has been requested at the store more often than just about any other, but it sold out not long after it was issued and has risen in price consistently since that time. Listening to Known Quantity, it's not hard to understand why it has such a strong rep. Lane came out the Hampshire College scene that aligned itself with the Apostasy Records crowd (Krefting, Shaw, Rosenblum, etc.). His first known recordings were actually with some of the noisier experimental units associated with this cabal. Willie was based in Philadelphia for a long time after college, where he fell in with Jack Rose and the whole Fishtown scene of the early Oughts. Moving back to the Valley, Willie also began working with Matt Valentine's tribe, and his first solo album,Recliner Ragas, was issued as a C.O.M. CDR in 2006 before getting vinylized by the Humito label in 2012. And keen listeners out there will detect a certain "Spectrasound" feel to some of the electric passages here. The music on Known Quantity is a buttery mix of electric and acoustic string aktion. Samara Lubelski plays bass on one track, but it's all solo apart from that. And it's a wonderland of textures and sound shapes. Some of the pieces are almost straight ahead (somewhat more in tunes with the work Willie does when he plays live), but others are as wobbly and jagged as a drunk peacock. It's an amazing record, and rewards multiple listens with constantly unfolding details. Max Milgram (from Watery Love) did the new cover art (based on the original LP's photographic frontispiece) and the mastering by Carl Saff is mighty nice. Enjoy..." --Byron Coley, 2018. Edition of 500.
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