Peter Rowan

This is one of those CDs that should be given the same treatment as a good novel. While it’s a perfect disc to spin during a gathering with your best kinfolk, it should also be heard on your lonesome at some point; take a long drive through the country with it. Only then can you really absorb all of the nuances and the story telling that made it such a great performance.

On a budget of $7000, director James Ryan Gielen and his company, Brownpenny Films, have created a documentary that is as unpretentious and rough around the edges as its subject. Beautiful Thing is a stark, black-and-white look at the travels and trials of acoustic guitar genius Larry Keel during 2002. If you have ever met Larry, it is hard to imagine him as the impetus for this project, and by the time the show is over it becomes clear that Gielen was the brains behind the thing. Keel’s salty, hilltopping tunes are treated with the utmost respect and the viewer feels his vision throughout.