Manute Bol? No, TTMOE!

The Tallest Man On Earth
Album: Shallow Grave
The Gardener

Dylan is awesome.  Of course.  I mean, if you don't like Dylan, you don't like music.  Right?  An earnest social revolutionary as a young man, plugged in and pissed off in his mid 20s, swaggering as a country-blues artist with The Band, and maturing into one of the greatest poets in rock history, Dylan has it all.

Well, he almost has it all.  Dylan isn't much of a guitar player; three chords and square strumming is his basic modus operandi.  And this really puts off some people.  Back in the day, I remember listening to CBC personality Brent Bambury when he was host of Brave New Waves -- a showcase for alternative and obscure music that was then a staple of late-night radio broadcasting -- and he repeatedly said that he didn't think much of Dylan as a musician because of his lack of guitar chops.  And indeed it can be said that it's only when Dylan performs with others that he reaches his full musical potential.

Which brings me to The Tallest Man On Earth, the moniker of Kristian Matsson, a Swedish folk musician, one my absolute favorite current artists.  TTMOE follows the standard folk recipe: one man, one guitar, no fucking around in performance or in the studio.  Simple, simple, simple.  And damn if Matsson doesn't sound a hell of a lot like Dylan himself.  And damn if his lyrics aren't as poetic and full of imagery as the old man's.  And damn if he isn't an absolutely sublime guitarist.  One upping God Dylan, as it were.

Now TTMOE isn't all flash.  In fact, there ain't much flash at all in his performances.  But he is obviously a great musician.  He feels the music deeply, his guitar playing is sensitive and alert.  He is a master of dynamic control.  There is a natural sweep and arc in his music, an exquisite sense of phrasing, that is rarely in evidence in today's popular music.  Matsson is the real deal, and if there is any justice in the world he will sell a million records before he is done.