Search - Lyle Workman :: Tabula Rasa

One of the most amazing instrumental albums ever

Greg | Alpena, MI | 08/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There are two kinds of guitar players in the world: those who are guitarists first, and those who are musicians first. Mr Workman is a musician first, as this is not a "guitar album". What I mean to say is that Lyle doesn't allow himself to get sucked into all the guitar cliches which have been played over the last 30 years. Nor does he allow the limitations of the instrument to dictate what he plays. He simply writes and plays what he hears in his head and he just so happens to play the guitar and play it incredibly well.



What does this mean for us? Well, we get an amazingly diverse, eclectic, and downright gorgeous album that embraces us with it's warmth rather than attempting to blow us away with chops (although Workman posesses them in spades).



What style is it? Nearly every style you can think of. What will this disc do to you? Grow on you like a close friend. Who should own it? Everyone who has a heart and a brain ."

There are NO WORDS in my BRAIN...!!!

ric molina | brooklyn, new york USA | 09/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...That's because it's so full of music after listening to Lyle Workman's album, Tabula Rasa. In a world inundated with "here today, gone tomorrow" fluff, Lyle Workman emerges with another recording featuring an exciting, original and evolving musical language all his own. This is the kind of talent and vision that doesn't need to be associated with any particular instrument. The fact that Lyle is a wizard at guitar, is merely the setup. The real magic is in the beauty of his musical vision. He just happens to take you to imaginary places that inspire and delight without ever being academic or showy. This is the work of a very gifted composer adept at a wide range of styles which always stay true to his unique voice. From blistering virtuosity to delicate meditations Lyle provokes the listener with fresh takes on a wide range of sounds, never losing his sense of balance or humor. Check out his duet with Mike Keneally on "Inhale" and you'll know what I mean. This record is a treat. You can't go wrong with Lyle Workman's, Tabula Rasa."

A Luxurious Sadness That Makes You Feel Alive

Noble K. Thomas | Edmond, OK United States | 09/10/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Much like Michael Hedges' Taproot, tabula rasa reveals LYLE WORKMAN as more of a composer than just another guitarist showing off his latest chops, although his considerable fretboard skills are certainly displayed throughout. But it is the musical compositions themselves that take center stage and the ten songs all seem to contain a common theme and emotional center. A sense of sweet sadness permeates most of the nine instrumental tunes and, save for one exception, the song titles offer little clue as to the source of this sadness.That one exception, however, Rising Of The Mourning Son, might just provide the vital insight as to that source. Beginning with a subtle chord progression, it spirals upward evoking a spiritual strength and then, as the trumpet falls in, a sense of joy, until finally the music evolves into a swelling mantra of both acceptance and inspiration. The result is a memorable musical eulogy to one's father or perhaps to some other essential facet of a man's constitution. Whatever, a sense of resolution manifests itself by song's end.The first two tracks of the CD, Timbuktu and Here Comes The Cavalry, are actually quite energetic, the former applying some frenetic guitar synths while the latter adds some old western banjo picking from Dave Ristrim. Here Comes The Cavalry ends with a somber keyboard fade-out that proves foreboding to the rest of the disc.Might the cavalry have arrived too late?..A highlight of tabula rasa is the next track, Splendid Outcast. Mixing in some tinkling electric piano riffs to a jazzy arrangement, Workman adds an unexpected twist to the end with a diabolically mad piano outro.Mike Keneally offers vocals on one track, the made-for-college-radio number Inhale. A catchy pop-rock melody straight out of the Rundgren-XTC-Belew school of musical thought, the chorus asks the listener to "think of me when you inhale." Perhaps a warning not to take Life or its simple providing act of breath for granted? Again, the song takes quite a turn at the end.Speaking of turns, The Great Race takes a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants arrangement to great heights propelled in part by Dave Gregory's vibrant string arrangement.The remaining tracks on the CD contribute to the melancholic beauty of tabula rasa, from the lonely moonlight serenade of Cowboy G to the simple elegance of Coloratura.The final track, Ithaca, is the acoustic brethren of Rising Of The Mourning Son, a quiet farewell to the listener.Listening to tabula rasa brings to mind a passage from John Steinbeck's To A God Unknown: Joseph lifted his head and sniffed the wind. "I can smell the salt," he said. "I shouldn't have brought you here, Elizabeth, to make you sad." Elizabeth answers: "But it's a good full sadness, dear. It's a luxurious sadness."Allow yourself to sniff the salt and feel such emotion within the luxury of Lyle Workman's bittersweet guitar symphony.toby thomas - February 2nd, 2001"