Larry, I hear you. May I however suggest an additional and alternate point of view.
Agreed, that Joe Robinson developed a distinguishable style as an acoustic guitar player. I especially like his fingerpicking play. And he is quite good at that. So far the consensus.
On the other hand, an artist is also evolving and might want to do something new once in a while. Also, the audience for an acoustic guitar act is limited due to the listening attention it requires, and that space is rather crowded. Hence, the new album for sure expands his audience due to him now becoming a more complete act. And personally, I don’t mind his singing either, but that is based on personal taste. Well, also artists got to eat [emoji3].
But I feel e.g. Joe Bonamassa has the problem you describe. First being a child prodigy, and then trying to desperately own the blues does not work so well for me. I liked his “Different Shades of Blue” album though. Also, when comparing those two, I find that Joe R. has so far maybe retained a bit more of his original qualities in his electronic play and is thus a bit less traditional. I enjoy his use of arpeggios and parallel plug of multiple strings as style elements, which are clearly derived from his acoustic style. But the vocal lines are undoubtedly occasionally a bit commercial, I give you that.
Personally, I nevertheless find Joe Robinson’s new album highly listenable, and it’s superbly recorded. Bought the LP and digital download. I really like it, but I think you are correct in the sense that listening to it is different from listening to his earlier acoustic work.
PS: I need to be a bit cautious here, as I think you are the quite a bit more accomplished guitarist of us and thus better able to judge the quality of their play [emoji3].
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