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Our Review

There are guitar players, and there are guitar players. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce Gayla Drake Paul, perhaps the most accomplished female guitarist on the planet. Truly. She has mastered both fingerstyle and flatpicking, and she has won great acclaim in diverse national contexts. On top of all this, Paul possesses a great folk voice, and her singing is the frosting on the cake.

On The Joy Tree, Paul's incredible fingers weave a wall of guitar sound so rich and multi-textured that she will take your breath away. The ten tracks are a nice blend of traditional carols, some lesser known folk numbers, and a fine Paul original (A Child This Day Is Born). Although I absolutely love Paul's earthy folk vocals, this production seems to place her excellent voice somewhere behind the guitar on some cuts, slightly subduing her remarkable singing through distance and reverb. Still, I understand that the guitar is the star here, and Paul's playing is undeniably fantastic.

What a pleasure! This album is first rate from stem to stern. As I reviewed this CD, the time just flew by--every moment was special. The Joy Tree opens impressively with We Three Kings, and the complex number will leave you wondering just how many hands Paul has. Her handling of I Saw Three Ships is another high point, at once simple and sophisticated. And although I am normally not a big fan of Auld Lang Syne, Paul's closing rendition is warm and cleanly moving without undue drama.

This album won me over from the first few bars. Gayla Drake Paul has a new fan, and if you enjoy top quality folk music, especially stellar acoustic guitar, you will become a fan, too, the very first time you hear The Joy Tree.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2006)

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From the liner notes:
All songs Traditional (arranged by GD Paul 2005), except "A Child This Day Is Born" (by GD Paul 1999).

From the artist's Website:
Gayla Drake Paul has been playing and writing guitar music for over a quarter of a century. One of a tiny handful of guitarists to master both fingerstyle and flatpicking guitar techniques in multiple genres and tunings, she is rarer still for her remarkable singing voice, prolific songwriting and compositional skills.

Gayla Drake Paul

The Joy Tree

Artist link

Track List