Monte Montgomery - 1st And Repair (1998)

Monte Montgomery tears it up on the fretboard and the mic, and he's brought a strong rhythm section just for reinforcement. His guitar playing describes a true wealth of sounds–just picture a slap-bass player on an acoustic steel string with a penchant for Stevie Ray Vaughn, and you'll be in the ballpark. At the same time, his blazing fingerstyle, precise, percussive accompaniment, and exceedingly creative use of harmonics are only part of his truly unique guitar style. And Montgomery's outstanding technique does not prevent him from delivering a clear, melodic solo that dances through the changes.The folk-tinged songwriting is well developed, and this man's got stuff to say about life and love. In fact, Montgomery is an impressive, versatile vocalist in his own right. The album's single, "1st and Repair," features a multi-syllabic John Popper style, while he boasts a range and vibrato on "Leaving Paradise" that could easily make him a candidate for Boyz II Men. It's all in a day's work for this multi-talented six-stringer.–CD UNIVERSE
"Monte Montgomery is not your typical up-and-coming guitar god. His exquisitely crafted,melodically and rhythmically sophisticated pop songs suggest the best of Fleetwood Mac, Squeeze, and the Police, while just happening to integrate the most mind-boggling guitar work in the state of Texas. In his amazing live performances, backed by drummer Phil Bass and bassist Chris Maresh, Montgomery completely lets go. "Somehow those three minute pop songs become 12 minute sagas," he jokes. He picks and frets with all ten fingers at once, stretching chord positions across an alarming six frets while playing rhythm strokes,melody, and bass lines, all the while casually tossing in faster-than-the-naked-eye harmonics, two-handed tapping, bass-style string slapping, percussive string stops, guitar-torturing neck bends, and guitar-body percussion. His fast and precise plectrum playing, meanwhile, leaves even most electric guitar players gasping."–Acoustic Guitar Magazine

1. Movin On 2:35
2. Sorry Doesn't Cut It 3:45
3. 1st and Repair 3:04_Play_
4. Love to the People 3:21
5. Leaving Paradise 5:16
6. Girl Like You 5:01
7. River 4:32_Play_
8. Pocket Change 3:09
9. The Fall 4:33
10. Last Goodbye 2:51
11. It's Alright 3:30
12. For What It's Worth 3:21_Play_
13. Love Come Knockin' 9:52

BIO: As a leading voice on the music scene in Austin, TX, guitarist Monte Montgomery slowly gained national recognition for his amazing dexterity, fluid harmonics, percussive dynamics, and melodic sensibility. Montgomery won his fourth consecutive title as best acoustic guitarist at the 2001 Austin Music Awards at the SXSW Festival. Songs written by Montgomery in early 2001 followed suit from his previous releases, 1998's 1st and Repair and 1999's Mirror, in that they all focus on storytelling, a quality he derived from listening to Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, and Bob Dylan. "Tug of War," a song written in 2001, was about the give and take in relationships. "All on Me" started as a slow ballad, then transformed into a guitar anthem. Montgomery continued to tour in 2001 with his quartet – bassist Lonnie Trevino, drummer Phil Bass, and percussionist Mike Urdy – performing songs loosely based on his experiences or gathered from his understanding of and observations of other people. Montgomery's sandy voice and rapid fingerpicking gained him comparisons to Mark Knopfler and Bruce Cockburn, but his true heritage lay in the tradition of Texas guitarists B.W. Stevenson, Shake Russell, and Guy Clark, whom he discovered in his youth. National acclaim started to come his way after appearances on PBS music television shows, such as Austin City Limits, CD Highway, and Texas Music Cafe. His growing talents as a guitarist and songwriter came from the understanding of melody and rhythm he gained from hearing pop icons Lindsay Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, and the Neville Brothers. Montgomery's journey to guitar stardom started in the Hill Country hamlet near Fredericksburg, TX, where his mom (Maggie Montgomery, herself a folk-country singer and guitarist in Luckenbach, TX) let him strum her guitar while she fingered the chords. Montgomery lived out of the back of his mother's pickup for a while. He played for tips and paid a lot of dues early in his career. He and his mother used to hang out at the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas where they met a lot of songwriters. David Montgomery, his dad, factored into his development, too. Monte Montgomery was born in Birmingham, AL, where his father, a choir director, took him to church and introduced him to gospel singers. A lot of his apprenticeship during the '80s took place in San Antonio, where he honed his skills by performing cover songs in cafes and honky-tonks. He commuted to Austin to perform his original songs. Before long, he became a mainstay on the music scene there. After signing with Heart Music to record his first two CDs, Montgomery began to rise in popularity. In 1998, Montgomery moved to Austin. The songs on his 2000 CD, Mirror, ranged from the flashy guitar style on "Hopin' That You'd Slow Down" to the beautiful lyricism of the ballad "Magnolia." Well into 2001, Montgomery brought both parental forces to bear in the rich harmonic interplay of his voice and his guitar.–by Robert Hicks