The Vast Majority of guitar-instruction DVDs on the market are old video transferred to the new format. That's fine, but it hardly takes advantage of digital technology. Two new lessons by virtuoso guitarists Mike Dowling and Laurence Juber bring on-screen teaching solidly into the DVD generation. Part of a series that also includes lessons from Kenny Sultan , David Cullen, Doug Smith and AL Petteway, these titles allow users to switch at will between three different camera angels to get the best view of the material as its being taught. The lessons also can be viewed in a performance-only mode (with audiophile sound) as miniconcerts. On "Uptown Blues" , Dowling, a renowned blues/jazz fingerstyle guitarist, teaches six original compositions that span bottleneck bues, jazzy ragtime, and open tuned fingerpicking. A patient and careful teacher, Dowling explains the tunes in detail, focusing on such techniques as palm damping, picking patterns, and playing fast single-string runs. On "GUITARIST", Juber, the former Paul McCartney and Wings guitarist known for his flashy solo fingerstyle playing, teaches six originals, five of them in DADGAD tuning and one in standard. His breezy but thorough demonstrations take the mystery out of his brilliantly propulsive pieces, which are full of multiple-string hammer-ons, fast walking -bass lines, and percussive slaps. The DVDs do not include tablature, but companion lesson-book/CD combos that include additional instruction and complete tablature for the songs are available separately from Warner Bros. Publications (Solid Air www.SolidAirRecords.com)
....Ian Zack - Acoustic Guitar Magazine