Fat Knuckle Freddy
The Legend of John Von Bern
Angels On My Pillow, Devils In My Head
self-released
We don’t think a lot about physicality when it comes to musical talent. The ability to play an instrument starts from something special in your DNA and grows with a whole lot of practice. But in the case of Al Giusto, a South Portland cop and blues-guitar virtuoso, there’s something about his fretboard hand that enhances the talent he was born with. After busting his pinky at the middle knuckle, it set in such a way that the finger tilts outward. That knuckle is now as large as the one on his thumb. This gives him a slight advantage when playing his favored axes, which include fretless slide guitars, cigar-box guitars, and the Martin 00-15m acoustic. You can see Giusto play that Martin on a series of YouTube videos posted to coincide with the release of his latest album as Fat Knuckle Freddy: the gorgeous instrumental collection The Legend of John Von Bern. The songs often sound like several musicians are playing as clusters of notes gather and disperse, but it’s just Giusto, sitting in front of his iPhone camera, looking relaxed as can be.
The album title mashes up two of Giusto’s major influences: “American Primitive” guitarist John Fahey and Austrian avant garde composer Anton von Webern. The music reflects those divergent styles; these are short, bucolic country and blues songs constructed as a classical suite. No lyrics are necessary to evoke imagery. The visions I keep getting are of the American countryside: long walks through sunny glades, horses with kindness in their eyes, the aromas of cut grass and freshly turned earth. The titles are more esoteric than my little clichés, but they have a folksy wisdom. A beautiful wave of finger-picked bluegrass is called “Even Superheroes Brush Their Teeth.” A hammer-on-heavy blast of Mississippi blues is called “Tiny Dinosaurs.” Then there’s the trio of songs called “Sweet.” I can’t think of a better adjective.
It’s impressive that this release arrived a mere six months after the previous Fat Knuckle Freddy album, the rough-edged electric blues effort Angels On My Pillow, Devils In My Head. Where John Von Bern is intricate and short, this is blunt and long. Giusto’s playing is still magnetic, though he sticks to rudimentary blues scales, locking in with drummer Young Brett on jams about demons and criminals. His singing voice is less compelling, but it has an authentic rawness that suits the material. Knowing the level of beauty Giusto is capable of creating instrumentally, Angels feels a bit abrasive. He’s aiming for Bo Diddley but lands closer to George Thorogood.
— Joe Sweeney
Fat Knuckle Freddy plays Blue on July 14.
