By: David Schultz

Many people unfamiliar with Willy Porter come to see him play because they have heard the stories of the prodigious guitar work that has made classic rock warhorses like Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson claim with mock relief, "Thank goodness he doesn't play flute." While many initially come for the guitar, they usually leave marveling at Porter's personality and down-to-earth sense of humor. He comes across on stage as he truly is: a genuinely personable musician that has mastered the art of the guitar. Knowing this, Porter's latest album, Available Light, written and recorded during a period where his father suffered through a terminal illness, possesses an additional empathetic emotional edge.

On Available Light, his first release on his own Weasel Records label, you get a good smattering of what Willy Porter can do. A ridiculously skillful guitarist, Porter showcases his finger picking ability on the opening title track and "Loose Gravel," inventively creating some trippy and funky guitar effects; on the instrumentals "Sleepy Little" and "Hairball," he focuses on his Windham Hill acoustic guitar wizardry. Porter doesn't possess an extraordinary vocal range but it perfectly matches his songs. On stage, he adopts an intimate, conversational style, immediately connecting to the audience; on Available Light, he alternates between a comforting bass timbre perfectly capturing an underlying pathos and the straightforward, near narrative style of a masterful folk singer.

The sadness and pain over the loss of a loved one looms over the album. "Me And My Old Man" is a fine tribute to his father, but it's "One More September" where Porter achieves his literary triumph. His response to the Yankee Doodle Dandy songs that piggybacked on the tragedy, Porter sings "One More September" from the point of view of a young girl who lost her mother on September 11th. The heartbreaking elegy, essentially a letter to the child's missing mom telling her how she and her father are coping five years later, shows Porter's gift for imbuing a song with powerful emotion. The album contemplates loss but does not immerse itself in it. In a style perfectly suited for AAA radio, Available Light maintains an optimistic air, embodying Porter's philosophy that "life is worth living, and it takes guts to live it to the fullest."

Labels: Willy Porter