22 Acoustic Guitar Hits

Rating:
Summary: Something for everyone in the selection of songs
Review: Most of the 22 songs (probably about 15) are good accoustic songs but there are some for which I don't see the acoustic connection. But that still leaves plenty of playing material if it is just you and your acoustic. Some of the songs have chord diagram boxes but some just have the chord letter above the transcription. All of the songs have pretty good tab notation as well as alternate tunings where applicable and tempo. Like I said it is a pretty nice selection of songs with only a few misses. I think it is a good deal for the money.

Rating:
Summary: NOT note-for-note transcriptions
Review: The logo/slogan of this Cherry Lane series reads "Play it like it is . . . . note for note transcriptions." Well, that dog don't hunt. Granted, there are some nice arrangements in this book. And some pieces (like "Here Comes the Sun"--virtually identical to the "HL Recorded Versions Guitar Abbey Road" entry) come CLOSE to being authentic transcriptions, but most of the selections here fall far short of that mark. Just compare the Paul Simon "American Tune" version included in this book to that in Mark Hanson's "Paul Simon Transcribed" (which IS a genuine transcription) and you'll see the difference. Even when you think the authors are on the right track, as in the opening measures of "Time in a Bottle," it turns out that what they've written is a major fourth below the recorded version. Why? Who knows. I bought the book for the "Classical Gas" tab, but I ended up hunting down an old deluxe sheet music version written for classical guitar, because the version here isn't like the Mason Williams I've heard. So, the short story is, if you simply want a nice selection of decent arrangements, then this book might please you; if you're looking for real note-for-note transcriptions, look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: NOT note-for-note transcriptions
Review: The logo/slogan of this Cherry Lane series reads "Play it like it is . . . . note for note transcriptions." Well, that dog don't hunt. Granted, there are some nice arrangements in this book. And some pieces (like "Here Comes the Sun"--virtually identical to the "HL Recorded Versions Guitar Abbey Road" entry) come CLOSE to being authentic transcriptions, but most of the selections here fall far short of that mark. Just compare the Paul Simon "American Tune" version included in this book to that in Mark Hanson's "Paul Simon Transcribed" (which IS a genuine transcription) and you'll see the difference. Even when you think the authors are on the right track, as in the opening measures of "Time in a Bottle," it turns out that what they've written is a major fourth below the recorded version. Why? Who knows. I bought the book for the "Classical Gas" tab, but I ended up hunting down an old deluxe sheet music version written for classical guitar, because the version here isn't like the Mason Williams I've heard. So, the short story is, if you simply want a nice selection of decent arrangements, then this book might please you; if you're looking for real note-for-note transcriptions, look elsewhere.