Gilewitz' career has been very influenced by
Leo Kottke, both in his dexterous guitar playing and his dry-humor stage manner. This is not a bad thing. One could pick a worse influence, and, in fact, his take here on
Kottke's "The Sailor's Grave on the Prairie" rivals the original. Plus, the admiration is mutual as
Kottke recorded
Gilewitz' "Echoing Wilderness" on his 1986 album A Shout Towards Noon (retitled "Echoing Gilewitz"). A newly recorded version of this epic guitar piece can be found here. "Dirt to Dust" is a similar track, mysterious and haunting. The bulk of the remainder of the album is straightforward and concise melodic acoustic guitar, fleshed out by percussion from
Gumbi Ortiz and piano from David Webb. His original compositions hold their own alongside tracks by
Jorma Kaukonen,
John Fahey, and
Gove Scrivenor, placing him in the company of greats. ~ Rob Caldwell