This is the tenth album of the accomplished French acoustic fingerstyle guitarist Pierre Bensusan. Although his previous album was an all-instrumental record, Altiplanos features also two songs with vocals. Since there's a story behind each song, I recommend reading the bio at Favored Nations' website in case you already haven't done so... if nothing, it will reveal that some of the songs on this album are new renditions of Bensusan's old material (for example, "Nuit des Météores (Night of the Shooting Stars)" was already included as an instrumental piece on Bensusan's 1987 breakthrough album "Spices" (the song was titled as "4 a.m." back then)... however, on Altiplanos the song features lyrics written by Bensusan's wife, Doatea). It's also worth noting that the title track on this record is in standard (EADGBE) tuning instead of Bensusan's signature (DADGAD) tuning.

The music on this album is full of dynamics and different nuances... Mr. Bensusan knows his steel-stringed instrument well, and as a result the guitar playing on this record is rather subtle. For example, "Falafel à Montségur" contains really dynamic phrasing, and is actually one of my favourites on this album (it consists of two songs: Falafel and Montségur). Overall, the material on Altiplanos is somewhat influence-rich as one can hear traces of jazz, folk, world, celtic and latin music on this record. In addition, I have to admit that the quality of material on this album is rather steady as all the songs are quite good.

The sounds on this record are to the point, although the whole album was recorded entirely at Bensusan's home studio in the Champagne region of France. All in all, Pierre Bensusan's Altiplanos is rather enjoyable record that is worth checking out, in case you have a soft spot for the steel-stringed acoustic guitar instrumentals.

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- MAGE (July 3rd, 2005)

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LINE-UP:
Bensusan, Pierre: Guitar & Vocals with Boutlefeu, Blaise: Djembé on "Sur un Fil", Flutes & Percussion on "Sylva" & Keyboards on "Tacita" Benita, Michel: Contrabass on "Sylva" Malherbe, Didier: Doudouk on "Tacita"
Producer:	Bensusan, Pierre
Mixing by:	Rallo, Daniel
Mastering by:	Marin, Frédéric

	TRACKLIST:
	01. Sentimentales Pyromaniaques 02. La Dame de Clevedon 03. Sur un Fil 04. Altiplanos 05. Demain, dès l'Aube 06. Scarabée 07. If Only You Knew 08. Hymn 11 09. Nefertari 10. Sylva 11. La Nuit des Météores 12. Falafel à Montségur 13. Tacita 14. Chant de Nuit Length: 59:56