Seventh Heaven
Tame even by Govi's standards,Seventh Heavenis a pleasant dinner-party assortment of lightweight, flamenco-tinged instrumentals for acoustic guitar and small ensemble. A capable player and an agreeable composer, Govi has always resided at the softer end of the nouveau (read: smooth) flamenco continuum, only occasionally striking the sort of sparks associated with more ambitious players such asJesse Cook,Oscar Lopez, orOttmar Liebert. Instead, Govi targets the easy-listening crowd, and, in that context, serves up a fitting assortment of light-on-the-ear tunes that feature modest Latin and Spanish accents. Polite and cleanly played,Seventh Heavenmay be a bit too gentle for some listeners, though others will find it goes very nicely with a good book and a Chardonnay. If pretty, Anglicized guitar music with a more pronounced flamenco influence is your preference, you would do well to investigate theJohannes Linsteadalbum,Kiss the Earth.--Terry Wood