This came out in 2000 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Guitarists tend to be gunslingers — always trying to be the fastest, the smoothest, the flashiest. Guitarists who make their own albums are usually even worse.
Which is why L.A. axeman Chris Standring is such a surprise. Instead of riding roughshod over his songs and spraying the place with solos, he lays back, emphasizing feel over fireworks. With the breezy, light touch of George Benson, Standring bubbles and glides his way through a baker’s dozen selections of light, funky jazz. He could use a bit of help when it comes to cover tunes — his versions of The Bee Gees’ How Deep Is Your Love and 10cc’s I’m Not In Love are elevator music, period. But even when Standring fails to blow you away, he never totally misses the mark.
