Ryan David Green - Off And Running (2024)

Ryan David Green is a guitar-slinger. He’ll get enough kudos from critics & reviewers who also play the guitar.

11 compelling tunes make up this Tucson, Arizona guitarist’s essential parts on Off and Running written, produced & played by Ryan David Green (guitars/vocals/bass/keys/percussion). It’s not a set of instrumentals. There’s singing. He’s not Elvis or Paul McCartney, but he does have a far more attractive voice than the late guitarist Roy Buchanan.

What can I do to explain my assessment? I listen & listen again to his creativity, originality & approach to playing & ask if it’s entertaining. What does this guy have that Robben Ford might not have, or Al Di Meola, Pat Martino, Bert Jansch, John Fahey, or Leo Kottke? I don’t hear his guitar playing compounded with the entertaining fireworks of Tommy Emmanuel. But that doesn’t mean Ryan can’t light a guitar up on stage. He does.

The sounds fingerpicked (“Time Is Not What You Think It Is”) are durable despite a light touch & elegant speed. The tasty identity that he gives his pieces. Yes, identity, character & individualism. I hear it. Ryan’s also an artist who knows how to breathe life into his melodies in ways a puppeteer gives his marionettes & puppets a life of their own. A guitar has strings too, right? Ryan controls it. He gets the steel, wood, frets & bridge pins to work together & it creates a song through his nimble fingers. I like the sound & tuning of these songs. All have finesse. He has a skill that owes nothing to showboating since Ryan provides the fascination.