Imaginational Anthem - Imaginational Anthem, Vol. 3 (CD)

The Imaginational Anthem series on Tompkins Square continues with this third volume, and as has become its wont, it is more adventurous than even its predecessors, yet stays closer to the vest, making it, upon first listen, more accessible but also more mysterious. Guitarist and kalimba wizard Richard Crandall's "Zocalo" opens the set. Played on an acoustic six-string steel guitar, it offers a kind of gentle but sprawling reflection on British Isles folk styles, American Primitivism à la the raga-like melodic repetitions offered in John Fahey's work, but Crandell's interested in the nooks and crannies of minor keys and manages to explore them while keeping the listener inside his circular approach to harmony and modality.