Back in 2002, U.K. born guitarist and composer Steve Gibb released his album Zig Zag. In the spirit of the classic guitar instrumental band The Shadows, Zig Zag was a short-lived affair with Steve moving on with his studio and session work in the NYC area. In 2021 Steve released his first acoustic solo album called The Boatman and he follows it up with his 2023 solo album called Island Of Woods. The album still highlights Steve’s deft guitar approach, yet it’s an all-acoustic affair featuring a number of acoustic guitar instrumentals topped off by a cover of the 1969 David Bowie classic “Space Oddity”.

Musically speaking, Island Of Woods is a superbly relaxing guitar experience with a dozen tracks. In addition to his originals and the Bowie cover, there’s also a cover here of the traditional New Year’s Eve chestnut “Auld Lang Syne”, a real tearjerker of a track, especially in Steve’s low-key acoustic guitar version. The album also includes other covers of music written by Liz Carroll, Gordon Duncan and Olafur Arnalds. In a world of many fine acoustic guitar related releases, Island Of Woods stands out as an intriguing album by Scotland-born, New York City area based guitarist Steve Gibb.