Rainer Ptacek "Worried Spirits" 1992

In addition to his main gig as Howe Gelb's right-hand man in Giant Sand, Rainer Ptacek performs as a solo acoustic artist; Worried Spirits is a representative sampler of his work, and features only his voice and guitar. In addition to covers of Roosevelt Sykes' "New World" and Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away," Rainer also adapts a pair of Langston Hughes poems. - AllMusic Review by Jason AnkenyThe first (and, unfortunately, the only) time I ever saw Rainer Ptacek play live was in 1994, opening for Jonathan Richman at Club Congress in Tucson. He was so unassuming as he came onstage, wearing jeans and a ballcap with some BigOil logo on it, that I first thought he was a roadie up to tune his guitars. That thought was nixed right away. At that time, Rainer was using a digital delay to capture a sonic base of chord progressions (2 or 4 bars) to build off with a second guitar. I've never heard anything quite like it, before or since.
Unlike earlier albums, WORRIED SPIRITS is a true solo effort. It's sparse in terms of instrumentation, yet dense in terms of feel. Ptacek has a playing attack that gracefully lurches between picking and slide. If that sounds awkward to you, it's only my choice of words.
For so many years, Rainer was more celebrated internationally than at home. I remember reading about several European tours he did with Das Combo, without even a record contract in the USA; I also remember my dad relaying memories of seeing him numerous times at Tucson coffee shops....
I probably am guilty of praising him more effusively now than I did while he was alive. I'm not the first, and I won't be the last. All the same: if you have enough interest to have read this far, I can assure you that you won't be disappointed you picked this one up. A ganga at any price. - B. Ingvoldstadtrax:

01 Powder Keg 02 Limit To It 03 Aunt Dora's Box 04 New World 05 Long Way To The Top Of The World 06 Losing Ground 07 Life Is Fine 08 Worried Spirits 09 Tasted Better Going Down 10 Waves Of Sorrow 11 Stone's Throw Away 12 River Of Real Time 13 Poor Backslider 14 Funny How Time Slips Away 15 Ain't Giving Up

…served by BillyK...