Robbe​n Ford, Michael Landau: Renegade Creation

WANT A RECIPE for a record guaranteed to make an electric guitarist’s mouth water? Start with a healthy helping of Robben Ford, a master of sophisticated jazz/blues and tone idol to legions of gear hounds; add an equal portion of Michael Landau, a session ace with credits that include music’s modern legends (Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, etc.) and a Who’s Who of pop music since the ’80s; stir in a Grade A rhythm section—drummer Gary Novak and bassist Jimmy Haslip—and serve piping hot.

If you expect the resulting dish, Renegade Creation [Blues Bureau International], to be a non-stop head cutting session, you may be disappointed—these are, after all, two of the most tasteful guitarists on the planet. Most guitar fans will, however, find that there is plenty of quiet fire on display by each. It takes until the ninth tune, “Who Do You Think You Are,” for Ford and Landau to go head to head with a satisfying round of trading fours, but not only is it worth the wait, strong songwriting and stellar tones ensure that getting there is considerably more than half the fun. more

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