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Gordon Giltrap — Starfield
((Not on label) no#, 2025, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2025-07-29

Starfield Cover art

Veteran guitarist Gordon Giltrap has long been known as a master of his craft, if not exactly a virtuoso, favoring subtlety over shredding technique. Starfield is an EP featuring five gentle tracks, plus an instrumental version of the title track, which features Susy Wall on vocals. Giltrap wrote most of the music and plays both acoustic and electric guitars, and Paul Ward provides additional guitar on one track. There are keyboards in evidence, and the liner notes thank Mark Guyatt for keyboard arrangements on “The Fox at Dawn,” though there are no specific credits. “Starfield” was an instrumental piece that Giltrap wrote in 2019, and as the notes relate: “I shared a dream about my late wife Hilary with my friend, the poet and song writer Rhona Dickson. She was deeply moved and felt compelled to write some words and a melody line over the top of one of her favorite Gordon Giltrap tunes.” Wall’s singing is lovely, and it’s a tender and emotional song. “The Dodo’s Dream” is a new version of a track from The Peacock Party (1979), here adapted by Paul Ward, with Giltrap adding acoustic parts. “12 Towers at Dawn” has a medieval flavor to it, and “The Fox at Dawn” has a tasty finger-picked backing where harmonics are incorporated into the pattern. The keyboard parts have an orchestral air about them, with string and brass sounds. “Small Pockets of Joy” is a solo acoustic piece that shows Giltrap’s abilities well, and if he took inspiration from Pete Townshend’s “Substitute,” it only shows a little in the opening phrase. Starfield is a tasty, if brief, offering from an often-overlooked guitarist, and great music for a lazy weekend afternoon.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Gordon Giltrap

More info
http://www.giltrap.co.uk/cds/f/CDs/6230/

 

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