An earlier review in these pages acknowledged that Buck Curran is steeped in guitar lore. Sometimes that manifests in pursuing quality relationships with individual instruments. He’s taken over custodianship of Robbie Basho’s 12-string guitar, a beautiful but seriously distressed instrument, and set out to raise the funds necessary to restore it to playable condition. Far Driven Sun, Curran’s ninth solo album, is the result of another such association. In the early 2000s, he obtained his own dream guitar, only to sell it in order to finance a tour by his band, Arborea. Last year, he got it back, and as soon as he stated playing it again, the music started to flow.
Far Driven Sun’s 10 compositions (some are repeated in alternate arrangements, as is Curran’s wont; the digital edition includes 13 tracks) are like open roads laid out to let the instrument’s qualities emerge and engulf the listener. Notes don’t just sound, they flower and fade. Gentle slide action elicits a complex and harmonious swell of sound. Overtones hover around Curran’s melodies like hummingbirds around a sap-heavy stem. The vibe ranges from joyous to devotional, making Far Driven Sun a comforting antidote to our uncomfortable times. [Obsolete/Echodelick/ESP-Disk]
—Bill Meyer
