REVIEWS

"Michael is a Travis style picker from California. He was noticed by Marcel Dadi when he was playing for the 1994 Nashville NAMM show. He has played in France and will be back this year for NAMM. Michael is going to help teach us some of Merle's music."

Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Program Guide, Convention '95

"Michael O'Dorn entertained convention goers and numerous guest guitarists from France, England and elsewhere in Issoudun and also at a hotel in the village of Rosemary … was, by all reports, well received."

Cannonball Rag, Feb. 1995

"Michael O'Dorn steps on the stage. What a pleasure to listen to and watch. He showed us some Marcel Dadi tricks and then started off with that fine Travis tune 'Saturday Night Shuffle', then performed 'Freight Train', a medley of 'My Town', 'Windy and Warm' and 'Blue Bell' demonstrating his Travis mastery. He also played John Lennon's tune 'Imagine' and finished with 'Drive-In'. He makes it look so easy."

The Sound Hole, July 1997

"Guitarist Michael O'Dorn has a very pleasant personality. This year there was added reason for his cheerfulness. He introduced his bride, Linda, and explained that the convention was a part of their honeymoon. His set included 'Freight Train, Blue Bell, Memphis Blues' and a tribute story, along with Marcel Dadi's composition 'Je Te Veux'."

Mister Guitar, Dec. 1997

"Michael O'Dorn being his joyful self started off with 'Happy Again', followed by some Marcel Dadi and Travis picking, of which I really enjoyed 'Walking the Strings' and 'Blue Bell' … Bob Saxton came up and asked Michael to play it again while he moved the vibrato up and down to show how he and Merle Travis had played it way back when."

The Sound Hole, March 1998

"Michael's Guitar Christmas" … is done exclusively on an acoustic guitar. All but two of Michael's recordings uses a combination of keyboards, strings, drums, and effects blended in with his great talent on the guitar to create some fantastic arrangements of mostly traditional Christmas music. Michael went solo guitar on two ('It Came Upon a Midnight Clear', and 'O Come All Ye Faithful') of the sixteen cuts on his CD. A couple of other numbers I particularly enjoyed were his arrangements of 'O Christmas Tree' and 'Winter Wonderland'. This was Michael's first CD which he recorded in 1992, and which was chosen later to be used for the background music by a major TV station (ABC Channel 7, Los Angeles) for a Christmas news story … beautifully done Christmas music played superbly … which you will enjoy not only each year at Christmas time, but year 'round."

The Sound Hole, Oct. 1998

"Hand Picked, the new CD that Michael O'Dorn has out is pure traditional thumb and fingerstyle listening pleasure. Containing tunes of Michael's heroes, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Marcel Dadi, that he hand picked to play on this CD, plus a couple of his own compositions are a compilation of tunes that let him demonstrate his great talent. To name a few: 'Je Te Veux', a Marcel Dadi number has a very pretty melody and a great bridge. He does Merle's 'Saturday Night Shuffle', which is a real fun tune, 'Spirit of Brother Marcel', one he wrote and dedicated to Mr. Dadi, is a bouncy sounding number. Chet's 'Happy Again', and 'Freight Train' which has a great ending.
The last number 'Elisa Daniel', is a beautiful melody (another one he wrote) that Michael starts and then a mandolin (Buddy McPeters) joins in, (the only tune with an instrument other than Michael's guitar) to embellish the melody. All tunes done in his super clean style of playing and in a variety of tempos, total up to a great CD. I'm sure you will enjoy it."

The Sound Hole, Oct. 1998

"Fingerstyle guitarist Michael O'Dorn … has released another fine CD of classic tunes. He covers Travis tunes like 'Blue Bell' and 'Saturday Night Shuffle' with ease, and Atkins tunes like 'Happy Again' and 'Windy and Warm', adding his own unique touch."

Mister Guitar, April 1999

"Michael's new CD, Tennessee Sunshine, is his best yet, a fine assortment of original compositions and guitar standards in the Atkins/Travis style. The tune for his wife, 'My Beautiful Linda', is the pick of the CD, but not far behind are the other 12 tunes, including 'Yesterday', 'Sheik of Araby', 'If You Could Read My Mind', 'Nine Pound Hammer', 'Puff The Magic Dragon', 'Memphis Blues', 'Heart Of My Heart', and 'Bicycle Built For Two'.

Mister Guitar, 2002