6 and 12 String Guitar

's wide-release debut came about after he sent a cassette to 's label. Not surprisingly, it recalls 's work in a number of respects: the synthesis of numerous influences from , , and styles, the weirdly titled instrumentals, even the tongue-in-cheek liner notes. 's brand of virtuosity, however, is more soothing and easy on the ear than 's. It's far from sappy, though, the rich and resonant picking intimating some underlying restlessness, like peaceful open fields after a storm. Establishing much of the territory was to explore throughout his career, this release was also one of his most popular, eventually selling over 500,000 copies. ~ Richie Unterberger