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 - Jesse Rocks!My first CD by this artist, and I bought it after attending a live performance. I love the work, it takes me back to southern Europe - a place I love to go. Rating:  - Good SelectionWhile I always enjoy Jessie Cook's work this 2-CD set has far too many selections from the Gravity and Tempest CDs. If you have those two CDs then purchasing this set is kind of a waste. Rating:  - Almost but not Quite the Essence of Jesse CookI already own all Jesse Cook's albums, but when a friend who has his own band, and is an excellent guitarist in his own right praised various guitarists and I mentioned that after Chet Atkins, Jesse Cook was my favorite technician--well, his blank face told me I had to get him this "best of" CD for a gift. The selection tries to give equal weight to all aspects of Cook's evolution as an acoustic-new age-flamenco-jazz-whatever guitar icon. that's the problem for me. I like what I know and I know what I like. When I first heard the arpeggio's at lightning pace of a jazz guitar with a distinctive spanish or flamenco tone, and crisp, clean audio reproductions, I fell in love with Jesse Cook. In later albums he tried to include some DVD,s vocals, Ravi shankar India-MidEastern-arabesque ethno babble and, yes, it was all good....but it sounded like a million other great street musicians whose CD's are peddled for ten bucks outside every busy bizarre and plaza in the world...sort of like finding Zamfir panflute wannabees in peruvian garb playing for loose change in Rome, or Amsterdam, or New York....If you've never listened to Jesse Cook I suppose you need this album.....if you like what you hear, just go back and buy his first two or three albums before he decided he needed to be politically correct and multi ethnic things to all musical tastes. Rating: - Vivid, exciting performances, amazing techniqueI bought this double album after a friend introduced me to Jesse Cook's musicianship a few months ago. Not only are the songs first-rate but the performances by Mr. Cook are exciting and attention-grabbing. There's an unusually-wide range of styles sprinkled throughout the tracks of these two discs which kept the listening fresh and even surprising at times. I especially liked the Middle-Eastern-themed songs. A huge bargain to boot, and an ideal exposure to this music and artist for a very fair price. Rating: - Absolutely incredible!This CD is great. I loved every song on it. Jesse Cook is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarists I have ever heard, and that includes the 2 years I spent in Nashville. Keep it coming, Jesse!
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