Bill Wilson - Crooked Tree

Bill Wilson

Crooked Tree
​self-released; 2020

3.9 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Bill Wilson is a guitar player from Petoskey, Michigan and has been playing guitar for over forty years and for the last twenty years has worked on fingerstyle acoustic music. He mentions this about Crooked Tree, “This album was inspired by the natural beauty of the northwest corner of Michigan's lower peninsula.”

The songs are instrumental and very sparse. It’s all about the guitar work. Wilson is a fantastic guitar player in a couple different dimensions. I’m also a guitar player and have been doing so for about twenty-five years. Personally, I never understood guitar players who seemed to be all in on technical skill and in exchange give up some of the aesthetics. It’s true that the space between the notes is just as important as to what is being played. Wilson melds the best of both worlds with this release. There is undeniable technical ability but also he is is passionate about the emotion he wants to impart.

There are fourteen songs on this album and it is an album that you don’t have to switch up any of the songs. They are seamless partly due to such a minimal amount of instrumentation. That being said there are clear emotions and patterns of energy contained in each song. One of the best examples is the juxtaposition of “Doodlebug” and “Summer Mornings With You.” “Doodlebug” has a lot of movement and feels fun and festive. Once that is over you are introduced to “Summer Mornings with You” and with that there are more reflective emotions with shades of autumn colors.

The whole album is like that. There are different shades of emotion and sometimes it is subtle. It’s analogous to the difference of our experience of happiness, There is that feeling you might get when going for a hike in nature and then there is the feeling you get when you have a night out with a loving partner. Both might make you happy but there are slight differences in the patterns of energy if you pay attention. The same is true here. If you pay attention to the nuance of these songs you will notice the degrees of difference.

It’s also important to mention how important recording quality is for this type of music where if a thumb brushes against a string it can make a world of difference. The recording was exceptional and truly lets you experience the wide array of sound.

​This was such an enjoyable album. Your ears will thank you. I suggest grabbing some tea and just relaxing before you listen. Recommended.

official website

Tweet