Buzz Feiten – Whirlies 2000

Actually, this isn’t a return. Buzz has been doing stellar work for Bette Midler for years, although this has never garnered him the praise he earned with Paul Buttefield, Stevie Wonder, the Rascals (!) and Full Moon compatriot Neil Larsen. What this CD does allow is for Buzz to return his guitar work front and center, and the result is something that will stir both hips and ears, simultaneously.
Buzz has always been able to rip off solos that Eric Johnson would die for, and been able to structure solo melodies in a manner that directly influenced Larry Carlton and the entire West Coast guitar league of the seventies (also heavily influenced by Full Moon, the first Feiten-Larsen LP of 1970, also now available on CD from Amazon); here all the guitar power is evident, but what strikes me is the strength of the song writing. The sound may be solidly Pop/AOR, but there are twists and turns to the song structures which keep every song interesting to the listener and set up grooves that cut straight to the dance floor.
As strong is Buzz’s constantly fresh arrangements. The layering of the guitars and string instruments provides a density of sound that’s never heavy, and always in service to the strongly propulsive quality of almost every cut. Feiten has been a monster since he first appeared, at age 20, with Butterfield in 1968. Nothing’s changed.

1. Break Down These Walls
2. Love Am’t Nothin Uke
3. This Am’i The World 1
4. Wait
5. More
6. Fire M The House Of Love
7. False Hope
8. Since I Met You
9. Down Real Slow