Naim Amor & John Convertino - The Western Suite and The Siesta Songs (2016)

The Western Suite And Siesta Songs, the 2016 release by newly formed duo Naïm Amor and John Convertino, is the perfect soundtrack to a drive through the desert Southwest. The thin, straight line of the road, unending to the horizon; dark, distant rainclouds hovering far ahead and above; the feel of the heat on the asphalt; and most of all the space... Space and time have come together here to create an environment unequaled elsewhere in elegance and beauty. This duo has created a classic record matching those desert roads and views of Arizona, New Mexico and West Texas. John Convertino recorded the initial tracks in a big room, alone, direct to four track, managing with very simple equipment to capture piano, accordion, and incredible analog drum sounds Those master cassette tapes were mailed to Amor, who added arrangements and his signature guitar style. Each musician needed each other to finish these works - Amor's brittle electric guitar stabs, lyrical acoustic guitar playing, and cirrus cloud lap steel combine with the hovering space echoes and rattlesnake hiss/thunderous boom of Convertino's drums to create an epic sequence of themes and variations. These compositions conjure up not only vivid scenes and vistas, but also characters, and moments in lives. The Western Suite And Siesta Songs is a masterpiece of Southwestern music, an album that could be the soundtrack to the best Western film since Once Upon a Time in the West.