All the Ways Keith Urban Plays
If you haven't yet pored over the liner notes from Defying Gravity like I have, let me tell you one of the things that will jump out at you: Keith Urban plays a staggering eight instruments on this standout 11-track collection of musical wanderings. There's his ever-present ganjo (a six-string banjo with the neck of a guitar), electric guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, EBow (a hand-held electronic bow for guitar), mandolin, bouzouki (a stringed instrument from Greece, which Urban's liner notes spell as "bazooky") and, of course, the mandocello. How could you make a country album without that? Oh, and he sings pretty well, too. Is there no end to this man's talent?
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Melissa says:
Absolutely not. He played like all of those in concert. He was AMAZING. There’s nobody like Keith.
Savvy says:
Thats what he is all about. Ever so gracious, multi talented, amazing musician.
gloria says:
He’s great at playing instruments but he needs to improve the lyrics of his songs, so many cliches and not much substance.
Gail says:
He even plays the piano and the drums at his concerts!! I can name a lot of artist that have many cliches and not much substance, but I truly enjoy Keith’s music! At least he doesn’t mention “fairy tales” in all his songs like one particular artist does!
classiccountryfan says:
Back in 1973 when Creedance Clearwater Revival split up
John Fogerty’s did a cd called Blue Ridge Rangers. A 12 song collection of classic country songs. John played every single instruments and did the arranging. There are rumors he is working on another one
Betty Jaeger says:
Defying Gravity - awesome. Keith Urban at his best. Saw him live at Joe’s Bar last night and performed some of the songs. Truly a gifted performer and songwriter. The CD is a must have for any Keith Urban fan.
solongsowrong says:
Not to take anything away from Urban, but this type of thing while impressive, is not uncommon. Tim O’Brien’s last album was just him, and what ever instrument he was playing on any given song, for instance. It might be rare in Mainstream to see such actions, but is quite common in Bluegrass circles, to see musicians/singers jump from one instrument to another.
julie says:
I was going to mention Tim O’Brien’s latest as well. Each song is a different instrument — and only that instrument. But for a country act Keith is really at the top of the heap. There are many uber-talented musicians in Nashville, but none who show such instrumental depth in the studio or on the stage. I just saw Alan Jackson in concert. He writes and sings great music, but why oh why does he bother to carry that guitar onto the stage? Does he have a soup stain on his shirt he’s trying to hide?
onlykeith says:
The amazing,awesome talent that is Keith Urban,I love him!
janet says:
Too bad he couldn’t get better songs. The album is a way step down from his last. Pop garbage that is geared to the Taylor Swift fanbase. What a dissappointment Keith.
This form the guy her gave us Golden Road and Be Here. A album filled pop love songs, so boring.
See its getting bad reviews across the board. keith you could of done way better.
RedMaZ says:
Lets break this down a little. The common name is Guitjo(if you look up the urban definition of ganjo, you probably won’t use that term again). Even though there are variations…the acoustic, and electric guitar along with the guitjo are tuned and played the same to some extent. It’s basically a tone difference. The slide guitar fits into this category also. The difference here being tuning variations(open G, E, C6th etc. or standard guitar tuning which is EADGBE) The EBow is not an instrument. it’s an instrument accessory such as a pick(plectrum) or fiddle bow.
Being talented on several instruments is common place these days. Maybe not so much in the Pop Country music world, but in today’s overall music scene it is.
Binay says:
I agree with Julie. There are many musicians who are multi-talented, but Keith combines that with wonderful stage charisma…that “IT” factor that you can’t manufacture.
I saw him from the 2nd row at The Fillmore last week…what a treat!
MARY says:
GOTTA LOVE THE MAN..There’s no end to Keith’s God-given talent..truly amazing. I have to say that I LOVE the album, only because it comes from the man that I LOVE and ADORE..
ladyaustin96 says:
JMO: Janet “Too bad he couldn’t get better songs.” Keith doesn’t “get” songs he creates them. “A album filled pop love songs, so boring.” This album is full of anthems of gratitude and love to his family and those who have always supported him (his fans). “See its getting bad reviews across the board. keith you could of done way better” I have been searching the reviews since the first snippets were introduced on iLike, and I haven’t heard or seen a “bad review” yet. Maybe you could site your sources for the “bad reviews”. If you have seen any of the latest shows that we have been priviledged to see him perform at you’d know that Keith and the band are doing way better than ever before…this shows how they all are evolving as musicians and songwriters. Do yourself a favor and d/l on itunes if you haven’t and REALLY listen to the music and the lyrics.
And BTW…who is Tim O’Brien? I’m 45 yrs old, pretty musically in the know (married to a musician who knows the minutest obscure tid bits…never heard of Tim O’Brien. Matter of fact we recently discussed Keith’s performance with the instruments…my husband is not easily impressed…and he likes the way the whole band rocks it out!
This album rocks!!
Again, JMO!!
ladyaustin96
RedMaZ says:
Who’s Tim O’Brien? Oh..I get it. April Fools!
That would be like saying,,, “who’s Mike Henderson?”
peppersprout says:
ladyaustin96,
With all due respect, Nashville-based Tim O’Brien is one of the most highly respected singer/songwriter/musicians in elite music circles worldwide, especially those of bluegrass/Americana/Celtic/roots genres … isn’t it great to learn about those rare gems in the music world we’ve somehow missed along the way?!?!?!
Tarheel says:
Gotta come to Janet’s defense a little bit. The dude is in love and can’t help himself. We’ve all been there. His enthusiasm makes songs like “Kiss a Girl” impressive. But I promise you, anybody else would be panned mercilessly for such sentiment. Keith gets away with it because of the authentic emotional he invests in his vocals and playing. The more deep he digs, like “Till Summer Comes Around” the better the record gets.
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