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REVIEW:
This Buenos Aires-born guitarist is foremost known as a guitarist for
Sting, but meanwhile, Dominic Miller recorded several solo albums like
'First Touch', 'Second Nature', 'New Dawn' with Neil Stacey and the
more classical album 'Shapes'. Dominic played with lots of interesting
people like Tina Turner, Mark Hollis (Talk Talk), Steve Winwood,
Sheryl Crow and many other artists. First Touch and Second Nature were
well received by his fans and the press. Dominic plays a genre which
is for the fans of pure acoustic music, although he plays equally well
acoustic and electric guitars. The styles of music he represents are
several, from classical to jazz, funk and fusion, but he is not
limited to one genre, and plays musical stuff others do not dare to
play. His music is based on emotion and he creates extraordinary
melancholic poetic landscapes in several engaging moods. The guy is a
genius and a virtuoso on any guitar. His approach to music means a lot
of passion, creativity, balance and structures in harmonic
improvisations. Recently I listened to Pat Metheny's new cd 'One Quiet
Night', and what I kept in mind was Miller's same approach to music,
based on skilful techniques but what one notices is the purity in his
pieces. He seems to be able to empty his mind totally and then he
paints music which goes beneath the surface of the soul. Every one of
Dominic's pieces has, as well, a superb balance, structure and a lot
of intimacy, which touches one deep inside. On some pieces he uses a
bass player and percussionist, as on 'Partido Alto', where Pino
Palladino and Miles Bould accompany him on bass and drums. On 'Letter
Unsent', Gus Isidore assists him on a steel string guitar. On 'Denver
Sun', Dominic is joined by William Topley with touching vocals. The
total album is a true masterpiece. Dominic Miller has the ability to
absorb a listener in 12 moving pieces performed with his rousing own
touch.
Bridge Guitar Reviews by Henk te Veldhuis
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REVIEW:
When Dominic Miller is not on tour with his boss Sting, he works at
his own projects or plays in an acoustic duet with Neil Stacey.
Dominic's solo-album is surely a surprise for those who only know him
as the sideman of Sting. He turns out to be an acoustic fan with a
preference for nylon-string sounds and presents a more quiet and
thoughtful side. But his music also contains grooves and world-musical
aspects. Interesting to see is his affinity towards classical and
contemporary music which guarantees an interesting musical mixture.
'Third World' is graceful, thoughtful, slow, soft and gentle. Many
guitarists, who walk out of the shadow of their sideman-existence,
decay to technical show-off and want to show what they really can do.
Dominic Miller is a laudable exception. Of course he is gifted, but in
the most musical way without posing. 'Third World' is mainly played in
overdub-duet with himself. Keyboards are rarely used, as are loops and
sounds. Pino Palladino (bass), Miles Bould (Drums and Percussion) and
Kipper (keyboards) add their parts. The result is an atmospherical
production, which totally follows unexciting its river and moves
stylisticly between latin, jazz, classic and pop. Millers nylon-string
sound is conspicuously clear and pure. This affects of the instruments
used: the string-virtuous played mainly with an electrified solid-body
nylon-string, which creates an easy chilly sound-aesthetic. But this
clean and dry sound is in good hands with Dominic Miller and supports
the transmission of silence and calmness.
Akustic Gitarre magazine
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