11.05.04

Maverick Helmsman A review by Emmett Chapman

Nick Beggs takes a dramatic turn away from his usual "rocking" Stick fireworks and into an intimate and warm solo album.  "Helmsman" comprises ten original instrumentals, all complete live Stick conceptions, with wonderfully recorded straight string sounds.  Only the "sweeteners" are overdubbed - bits of processed and transposed Stick melody added here and there to heighten lush moods and textures.

His melody lines take The Stick up into a sweet high register with
expressive swells and tight parcels of 32nd note flurries.  His
harmonic movement is gentle but always interesting, especially on
"So Far Away" and "Your Letter".  The rhythms are unhurried with
pendulum like precision.

The outstanding cut for me is "Willow" with its strange but familiar
melodic theme expressed canon style from every register and sector of the fretboard.  Other songs have a Celtic influence and remind me of Bob Culbertson's multi-fingered Stick styles.

I do believe an open fire under the hearth would heighten the loving
mood of this unique solo Stick album.