High Wire Live

Willy Porter the guitarist will call to mind such fleet-fingered colleagues as Adrian Legg and (a more common point of comparison) Leo Kottke. Willy Porter the singer is less distinctive — his voice is gritty and heartfelt, but not especially noteworthy, which is not necessarily a bad thing. As a songwriter he's somewhere in between, which means he's a very good songwriter indeed. This live album was culled from performances in England, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Oregon, all of them solo acoustic shows (though on one track he is accompanied nicely on electric guitar by Jethro Tull's Martin Barre). Songs include, inevitably, his brilliant hit "Angry Words," along with such stellar material as the guitar showcase "Breathe" and "Mystery," which is rendered here as a charming singalong. He does a nice job with the Richard Shindell composition "You Stay Here," and finishes up with a genuinely jaw-dropping instrumental entitled "Road Bone." His between-song patter is sharp, funny, and mercifully brief, allowing the listener to focus on what really matters: his lyrics and his brilliant acoustic guitar playing. Recommended.