Yngwie Malmsteen ~ Parabellum (album review) ... Getting off in public should be more pleasurable!

Style: instrumental, hard rock, prog metal
Year: 2021
Label: Music Theories Recordings
Home: n/a

Members: Yngwie Malmsteen ~ all instruments
 

Ten tracks of everything you expect from Yngwie: classically fused speed of light guitar runs. Its really hard to say much else about an Yngwie album. You know what you get when you get one & they are all in the same mold, even if the promo materials promise something different. You either love him, or hate him, or find him talented but lacking restraint. Speaking of hate, I'm sure his former vocalists hate him completely after the criticisms he's lodged at them after discovering his ego wasn't the biggest or only one in the room  they didn't kiss his ass, thus Yngwie has taken to being his own vocalist once again. I doubt anyone wants to sing with him, or if they do they know how it will end. Its too bad, as his vocals I found to be a weak spot of his last outing. Here he's trying to improve things with multiple backing tracks, reverb & studio gimmicks, but the fact is unavoidable that he has an adequate voice & limited range that doesn't add anything unique to the music. Its one step from a guide vocal by anonymous session backing vocalist, only made worse by the fact every song sounds alike. I want to take the lyrics from one song & put them on another just to see if they are as interchangeable as I feel they are. He needs a strong vocalist. Luckily, many of the tracks here are instrumentals. He should get some new kid, like a JSS, to sing who needs the career boost. While he's at it: get a band. Drum machines, keyboards & bass playing that is fast but not particularly interesting - as guitarists do not think like bassists, & this is why they are not necessarily interchangeable roles - doesn't give him the foundation that his flights of speed need. The backing instruments are purely sound effects, adding nothing to the experience. Its like he's noodling over demo tracks. Given outside his lead guitar the rest of the instruments sounded muddy or poorly mixed, the feeling of them being demos never left me even after repeated listens. He should take a page from Steve Vai, whose band is hot & stellar & are interacting with him as much as supporting him. Moving on, versus hanging around talking about the same thing without going anywhere ... which sorta summarizes the Yngwie style ... promo materials say Yngwie literally killed nineteen guitars during rehearsals & seventy-four in the making of the album. Quite literally killed them due to excessive friction from his fingerwork. That's cool, & an expensive investment, but its not like you're hearing any of that on the album. So, its irrelevant, but that's essentially the selling point of the album cause Yngwie isn't really offering the listener much else, has no top notch band, no distinctive songs or stand-out moments. As for those seventy-four guitars, you really only hear one at a time, or I believe they are double tracked to the point of sounding like a single instrument most of the time. I can't help but think of Steve Howe's solo albums. He can solo into infinity like Yngwie, has the classical rock touch, the collection of guitars, & shouldn't sing but does, yet I'd recommend any of his albums over this. For the simple reason that he layers guitars on top of guitars & makes these little sound landscapes that are all over the place. You never know what you are getting with him, even on a single album. Maybe a re-interpretation of a Yes or Asia song, maybe something from his solo catalog, maybe a popular tune given a new twist. He is just as self-indulgent, but he keeps things interesting & unpredictable. Here essentially Yngwie has one guitar line just running up & down endlessly over & over, with a bland rhythm section & some keyboards that are obviously there to fill in the space. For a master guitarist, why not add some guitar rhythms instead of keyboards? Also, I'm reminded of the fact that Howe sometimes plays chords & not just licks. I'd love to hear some chords here. Or, why not do some dueling leads like something Ronnie Wood & Keith Richards might do? I'm also reminded of jazz pianist Bill Evans' solo albums where he overdubbed multiple pianos to play duets with himself. For a master player, it really feels like Yngwie doesn't have that many tricks up his sleeve but one run over & over & over for twenty-something albums. At least change the tempo sometimes. Essentially, variety is what I'm saying this album lacks. There is an apparent super lack of it here. Why does he even give the songs titles, given how they all sound alike? I'm not even sure if there's multiple songs on this album or just one song with ten parts. When you compare this to B.B. King who said he only ever played about sixteen notes in his entire career, he had more in one note than Yngwie has in one bar, or one album. Not to mention, this is twenty-something albums in & Yngwie is playing is the same as always. Its like he's had no real growth or musical change. Does he even listen to music? I can't really think of any other guitarist who hasn't change. I would rename this album "Just Showing Off Vol. 20-something." I listened to this wanting something different. Why did I think that? I must have been hungover. It needs to be tightened up, a lot, & have some groove or hooks or something, as you end up feeling a little dirty. Is it morally wrong watching someone get off for an hour without ever climaxing, nor even wanting to join in the fun? The only interesting track is "Eternal Flame" which is an okay power ballad with vocals, but the last two minutes might have the most interesting (i.e. different sounding) solo on the album. The highlight is the very ending with a short nylon string guitar solo that is worth the wait. "God Particle" opens & closes with a couple nylon string guitars for over a minute. It would be perfect if Yngwie had left off the keyboards that clutter up the space by echoing the guitars & don't allow the guitars to shimmer. So close, so very close, to something really unique on an otherwise not so unique album. One fellow music reviewer described this album as background music that won't grab your attention. I have to agree. For the record, there are a few Yngwie albums I like. I can return any time to his album with Joe Lynn Turner, so I'm not one of those people who just dismiss him out of habit. He did better when he had a band adding personality. Oh, I do really like the cover. That's something. Put the album on your shelf. Look at it. There you go, you've got the best of this outing.

Yngwie Malmsteen & Rising Force ~ Perpetual Flame (album review) ... Perpetual enjoyment!

Style: power metal, heavy metal, blues-rock, progressive
Label: Rising Force Records
Year: 2008
Home: n/a

Members: Yngwie Malmsteen ~ guitars/bass/keyboards/sitar/b. vocals
Patrick Johansson ~ drums
Tim "Ripper" Owens ~ vocals
Derek Sherinian ~ keyboards

It's taken me a long time, lots of listens & albums, & past reviews here will contest to some of that search, but I can say I have finally found a YM album where from start to finish I enjoyed nearly every song & more importantly wasn't walking away bored & overdosed. Excluding his first album with Rising Force, & stuff with Alcatrazz, everything that has come later from him has done nothing but disappointment me except for random tracks. & usually I'm interested primarily because of the vocalist ... though bad lyrics do just as much as bad over-playing. Yes, YM was & is a pioneer guitarist doing something no one else does & really remains unmatched. But, bad lyrics, break from the speed onslaught, lack of contribution from his band & a general lack of soul or variation I have found to haunt all his work. One guitar solo at breakneck speed spread out for countless years is how I categorize YM's career. Then comes Perpetual Flame. I can't explicitly say what makes this album great, though others have verified it as his one of his best. It's the same guitar riffs as always with the same epic lyrics. Though, maybe this time the formerly missing secret ingredient is in the singer. YM always chooses top notch musicians & singers, without a doubt, to counter his guitar attack, but this time this frontman might have had just enough input to make a stronger impact than normal, though no writing credits exist ... or maybe he didn't & YM was just inspired like never before. Or, maybe the singing is a step above what other frontmen have done & really does intertwine in a way that YM has not been able to do with anyone else except for Jeff Scott Soto. The singer in question is Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Iced Earth & Judas Priest, now the ninth singer YM has had leading his band. But, is Owens the secret? Also in the band is former Alice Cooper & Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian who has a colorful range of music at his fingers & might have something to do with it. But, it's hard to say exactly what makes this album stand out from the rest. Honestly, the template is no different than any other album. The songs really don't vary that much, in that predictably YM way where each song generally sounds the same & each album like the last. Maybe it's because the weaker songs aren't too bad & beside the stronger songs end up sounding better than they really are. The one weakness is the obligatory instrumental "Caprici Di Diablo". I don't understand the desire of guitarists to show off with instrumentals when that's what they do usually just with vocals. For me few really imitate a vocalist in such a way that the song is just as good without a singer. Van Halen has done this too & those instrumental tracks I usually throw out. The guitar is melodic like a vocalist, but its not no matter how it's played. The only guitarists I know who really sing like an vocalist are in the jazz field or rock guys with a strong horn sensibility. Though "Caprici Di Diablo" is also YM's classical metal moment that he can't leave out. It's excusable, though is made less so by being followed by the instrumental "Lament". "Lament" is the better of the two & YM doing the blues is a good & too rare thing, & far more interesting than the classical thing, but I would have preferred to hear the instrumentals laced through the album & not clumped together. I understand that YM's Rising Force was originally both instrumental & vocal tracks, but I feel YM had moved beyond that into including more vocals. But, maybe that's why this album sounds good - it brings back something from the gold old days when the music was still vibrant & new. Including the Rising Force name on the album also helps, but this is not the same band so it's just a name. "Magic City" is a particular highlight that sounds like Whitesnake though a shorter solo would be better, but slow YM might be something not wish away too fast. If you want to get into YM Perpetual Flame might be the first & last place to turn to. It's the best.

Yngwie Malmsteen ~ The Seventh Sign (album review) ... The 7th song that sounds the same!

Style: power metal, heavy metal, blues-rock, progressive
Label: Pony Canyon
Year: 1994
Home: Florida

Members: Yngwie Malmsteen ~ guitars/bass/sitar/b. vocals
Michael Vescera ~ vocals
Mats Olausson ~ keyboards
Mike Terrana ~ drums/triangle

I've tried hard to like YM. But, I feel he makes it tough. His albums are heavily repetitious sounding more alike then not & are certainly predictable. His style has seemingly changed little, meandering between fast & super fast & classical & not so classical rock. I find his songs not so memorable & not doing much for me, except for a casual piece ... like one on each album. What keeps me trying is the fact that he is an pioneer of the classical shredding ... & really few play as fast as him & certainly not like him ... thankfully. Though, what keeps turning me away, again & again with as much predictability as his albums, is the the lack of variety & emotional quality. Technique over feeling is great ... when one offers feeling over technique occasionally, which I feel YM doesn't. & I feel the songs tend to be middle of the road predictable rock so the songwriting doesn't boost things for me. Further, I'm just not much of a shredder fan. I weary of its endless assault. But, like a food you keep trying to like, I keep trying to like YM. So, when I see an album of his that's supposedly doing something different I take a listen. The Seventh Sign, which sounds more like a Steve Vai album title, brings together the classically heavy YM with a more bluesy YM. Yes, YM does the blues, sort of. You read that genre name right. Ironically, most rock guitarists have a foundation in the blues, until YM gave an alternative style, so for many to have a blues album it would be no big deal. For YM it is, particularly since the blues is a style that seems, to me, alien to everything about YM. But, first, First, the classical metal part of this endeavor (i.e. "Never Die", "Hairtrigger", "Crash & Burn" & title track) - predictable throwaway YM power metal that has moments for the guitar enthusiast but continues to bore this non-fan. The songs don't have anything distinct about them I haven't heard before either in other music or YM. As for the rest of the band - light with the keyboards, the drums keep furious pace, while Michael Vescera is too much Jeff Scott Soto wannabe with his strung out high notes ... & I don't really care for Soto's singing with Rising Force. Enough said. I'll be criticized for not listening to YM's intricate scaler movement, but honestly it's just not a style that grabs me. It might be innovative but doesn't make me wonder what he's doing, like I did the first time I heard Wes Montgomery or Tal Farlow or John McLaughlin. Though "Pyramid of Cheops" is quite a standout due to a super killer heavy riff & a lack of YM classical playing throughout except in the solo. It also includes a sitar ... even if sitars aren't found in Egypt. This is the one song per YM album I really like, though I wouldn't call it a typical YM song, which is probably why I like it. Further, YM is in a bland rock ballad mood with on this album (i.e. "Meant To Be", "Prisoner Of Your Love" & "Forever One.") Albeit, "Forever One" the highlight of the rock side of the album as it brings together a Pepe Romero acoustic guitar with heavy metal rhythms & a technically bluesy solo. It might be the best arrangement & next to "Pyramid of Cheops" the most memorable song on the album. YM does take the classical motif one step further with an acoustic instrumental piece, "Sorrow", to end the album as a coda. It's interesting to him him full on classical & acoustic. As for the blues part (i.e. "I Don't Know", "Brothers", "Bad Blood", "Angel In Heat") - YM certainly has the technique down far more than I would have expected. He's obviously been listening to a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Kenny Wayne Shephard & "Angel In Heat" is a heavy thumping bass Hendrix tribute almost to the point where I think Hendrix should have a co-writing credit. But, blues, for me, has a soft & slow component that YM completely lacks & this is certainly more hurried blues-rock than really trying to find the essence of the blues. Actually, it's more YM a little slower with a few different scales, which is what a lot of blues-rock is. He may have the technique but he continues to lack the soul making these few songs interesting pieces. Do they show YM's diversity? I don't really think so. They show an attempt to be diverse, but YM is so stuck in one style that its hard to move. It's almost like talking about the diversity of B.B. King, there is none. He just does what he does & does it well & you either like it or not, as that's what you're getting. Is this an album to recommend? Probably not. It's a bit too disjointed for new fans in style & feeling, though old fans will certainly want to check out it out. It's not bad, I'm just not going to be inclined to listen again ... off to the next YM album in my quest.

Yngwie Malmsteen ~ The Genesis (comp) (album review) ... On the 8th day God created shredding, or was it the devil in disguise?

Style: power metal, instrumental, heavy metal, progressive
Label: Pony Canyon
year: 2002
Home: Florida

Members: Yngwie J. Malmsteen ~ guitars/bass/vocals/keyboards/drum programming
Zepp Urgard ~ drums

 


While YM may have broken through to the American mainstream via Alcatrazz with former Rainbow frontman Graham Bonnet, only to be replaced by Steve Vai while going on to be even more successful with his own group Rising Force, he had already been in the recording studio long before Alcatrazz ... perhaps to the surprise of some who see his career starting there. In a way it did. YM came to America after his demo tapes were heard by future Keel frontman Ron Keel. They rocked together briefly as Steeler before YM went off to Alcatrazz. But, back in his native Sweden YM had been playing around with local bands, recording on his uncle's private set-up, & developing his trademark neo-classical super technical style to the chagrin of anything else going on in the life a typical teenager. But, YM would never be typical. The Genesis gathers together some of those early recordings, done around age 17, including two instrumentals & two pieces hitting the twelve minute mark, including Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)". With titles like "Birth Of The Sun, "Plague In Lucifer's Mind", "Dying Man", "Black Magic Suite Op 3", "Merlin's Castle" & "Voodoo Nights" the influence of Deep Purple & Rainbow is obvious, but its never been a secret Richie Blackmore was a musical mentor. But, YM moved away from Blackmore like Blackmore moved away from the electric guitar, making their connection today seem tedious. As for the music itself on this compilation, yes, there's a bit of Blackmore. "Birth Of The Sun" is a standout track with a rolling bass line & could indeed come from the Deep Purple catalog, though YM is no Ian Gillen & its good he's not pursued his singing. "Dying Man" & "Black Magic" follows suit. While some listeners may not hear much of a difference between this & later recordings outside of some lower production quality, programmed drums & the fact that YM plays all the instruments & sings. But, there is a difference, albeit subtle. The desire for speed & power metal was always in YM's view. One of the criticisms is he has no feeling or subtlety or lacking focus in anything but a desire to impress. Everything must be fast, furious & relentless ... the later being the name of one of his latest albums. This album shows both the relentless Yngwie looking to impress (i.e. "Plague In Lucifer's Mind", "Merlin's Castle", "Voodoo Nights"), but is balanced by moments of overcrowded melodic emotional playing. It's an interesting array of playing. As for the two overly lengthy pieces, they are not as tedious as some YM cynics may believe, but highlights. YM takes Hendrix in the direction Stevie Ray Vaughn took him, or what would happen if the drugs were removed. In essence, compilation albums like this are essentially for fans. I actually love them. I think these compilations are better then when a band just sticks demos at the end of an album as bonus tracks. I like the fact that we're getting a view in on the past uninterrupted with new music. Of note, some of these tracks reappeared in a reworked form later in YM's career. One may wonder, given YM's notoriety as a perfectionist, why he would want to reissue these early tracks. The answer is simple when one realizes parts of the album were originally issued by bassist Marcel Jacob as Birth Of The Sun. The Genesis was later reissued with YM recording over all of Jacob's bass parts. Jacob formed Rising Force with YM, later to join Europe. While John Leven left Europe to join Rising Force, only for the two to switch back years later. Years later he would later replace Levin in Last Autumn's Dream. Jacob also played co-formed Talisman & Human Clay with original Rising Force vocalist Jeff Scott Soto. Jacob guested with Soto's band W.E.T. just before his death.

Nick Marino ~ Freedom Has No Price (album review) ... This album has no Yngwie!

Style: prog-rock, heavy metal
Label: Rising Force Records
Year: 2010
Home: n/a

Members: Nick Z. Marino ~ keyboards/lead vocals

Additional: David Cabrera, Dragan Deletic, Eric English ~ guitars
Hank Gleber, Scott Migone, Miguel Gonzalez ~ bass
Caroline Hope, Charlotte McKinnon ~ b. vocals
Patrick Johansson, Lee Levin, Ricky Sanders ~ drums

Listening to this album for the first couple times I was trying to figure out who it sounded like. I knew the voice immediately reminded me of Graham Bonnet of Rainbow, but not so high but just as much tuneful screaming, as his style is often described. As for the music, I finally realized, it's a keyboard version of Bonnet's two albums with guitarist Michael Impellitteri, Stand In Line & System X, particularly all the fast songs from the former. If you like that you'll enjoy this. Freedom Has No Price is the first solo release from Rising Force keyboardist NM, the band fronted by Yngwie Malmsteen ... ironically Malmsteen got a big career boost playing with Bonnet in Alcatrazz. NM crafts something in the same mold as Rising Force, including the speed. Fast & furious is the name of the game here & it should come to no surprise. Sadly, it is a surprise, as I hope a musician has more than show-off speed under the fingers. But, I must stop here & confess that every time I listened to the album I only got through the first few blistering songs before being interrupted & stopping for another time. After these few listens & few songs I was desperate for diversity & realizing that I wasn't too sure about the album. But, for some reason I felt like I was missing something & didn't write it off. That something is that NM opens with the door with a roar, blows away his listeners, then takes things down a notch. The diversity, mostly via a classical influence & the Indian drones (i.e. "Love", "Hand", "Never Mind", "Believe"), is there but it takes a bit into the album to find it. I wasn't getting there before stopping, but could feel that something special lied underneath what I had heard. Malmsteen has often been critiqued with technique over substance. NM verges at times of losing his substance & falling into this same technique pocket. I truly believe this is a mistake many pianists do. The piano doesn't have all the quirks of a guitar, like slide, vibrato, bending, yet one expects all these things in a solo & most pianists are stuck trying to do this on the piano but failing. Since the piano is a different instrument with its own textures the outcome ends up sounding like a bland run of scales. Few pianists are able to truly do a piano solo not imitative of a guitar solo. Ray Manzarek of the Doors & Eric Norlander of Rocket Scientists are two that come to mind in the rock world that have been able to instill solos with the voice particular to the keyboard. The problem is that the classical world has this, as its not dominated by guitar stylings, but pianists still question how much of that to bring into their music or how to blend the styles together, considering most pianists tend to have some classical educational background. Too often they play something very classical & then abruptly switch gears to fast scale runs. Liszt played fast scales too but it doesn't sound like it. Why is that? NM struggles with fusing his educational background with his current music so they flow together seamlessly. Yet, I found myself returning to this album many times, even after I'd finally gotten a chance to listen to the whole thing. I found I enjoyed it more & more. Once I got beyond the shock of the Malmsteen influence I was able to enjoy it more on its terms. Though, I probably would not have continued to give it multiple chances if it wasn't for the fact of the Bonnet-esque vocals (i.e. "Never Mind", "Out Of My Mind"), as I happen to be a big fan. In the end, I keep returning to the singing on this album. It got me in the door, kept me listening & remains a favorite thing. Why? Because, like Bonnet, Serbian born NM is distinctive. I like distinctive singing. Sadly, I'm not doing justice to NM's keyboard skills by saying that, but its obvious I have mixed reviews on that. But, while many albums I review I get rid of, I kept this album. I know this is something I'm going to want to revisit down the road. The album is produced by Malmsteen & is the first artist Malmsteen has brought under the Rising Force Records umbrella. Before playing with Rising Force NM worked with Gloria Gaynor. He played with Malmsteen from 2005 to 2006 & has been in the band since 2010, appearing on the new album Relentless with all star vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. This is NM's fourth album but first non-indie release.

Panther ~ Panther (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... Jeff Scott Soto is crawling to you!

Style: hard rock
Label: n/a
Year: 1986
Home: Los Angeles, CA

Members: Jeff Scott Soto ~ vocals
Mike Barrish ~ guitars
Scott Taylor ~ drums
Glen Davis ~ bass

 


This is a guilty pleasure. Straight ahead 80's hard rock with over the top vocals crying out cliched epic lyrics that even include a few dragon references, with guitar solos to match & the periodic synthesizer line to add an emotional quality where there really isn't one. Nothing more needs to be said. It's not a great release & typical of its era. Though, as the only album by Panther it's obscure status gives it a mystique it really doesn't deserve. Albeit .... there is one fact that needs to be mentioned. It's obvious why 18 year old frontman Jeff Scott Soto had previously gigged as the first lead singer of Rising Force featuring guitar master Yngwie Malmsteen ... he has the pipes to match the guitar. Today Soto, having sang most recently with Journey & Trans-Siberian Orchestra, has said that his early vocal style is a bit of an embarrassment at times, as its more put-on to reflect then current styles versus being reflective of his real vocal comfort zone. The regular shatteringly high screams do certainly date the album. Brainless speed metal riffing guitars, not particularly playing any riff worth remembering, doesn't give Soto much foundation to work with either. There's a few decent tracks like "Danger", though its far to close to Blondie's "Call Me" to be comfortable. "Deliver The Axe" & "Warchild" are Dio meets Lizzy Borden with not enough of the best of either. The title track, ending the album, is what happens when Steve Harris of Iron Maiden writes a love song for Dio ... shades of better bands. Panther is undoubtedly an interesting listen because of the future of its frontman & that's about all. If it wasn't for Soto the album would have little going for it, let alone a complete lack of melody. While, overdubbing himself on the screams to add obvious duet-esque echo might seem cool it actually doesn't make it more interesting, particularly considering how often it was deemed necessary to sing incredibly high notes that seem to all merit echo. Some singers in rock are vocalizer, such as Alice Cooper or Jizzy Pearl or Jon Oliva, changing vocal styles to fit the songs. Then there are the more traditional singers, such as Joe Lynn Turner, who may not always have the most distinct tone but can be called upon to hit any note with accuracy & always turn in a reliable performance. At this point in this life Soto was trying to be a vocalizer, though his only trick was the high notes, while today he has become a solid singer with a warm tone & far more vocal subtlety & control. The fact that Trans-Siberian Orchestra nearly went backwards during the recording of their epic two album Night Castle after discovering Soto & wanting to rewrite to give him the lead vocal role only shows how far he's come vocally. This band is not to be confused with the more successful Panther, also out of California, featuring vocalist Chris Rodd that released three albums. For those that don't know Soto you probably won't become a fan from this release, but his career is well worth hunting up with recordings for Axel Rudi Pell, Roger Taylor's Queen Extravaganza, Talisman, W.E.T., Michael Schenker, Slaughter, Lita Ford, Stryper, Bob Kulick, Dokken, along with regular solo albums & countless guest vocals.

Yngwie Malmsteen with the New Japan Philharmonic ~ Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar And Orchestra In E Flat Minor Live (live) (album review) ... When you can't be pretentious enough!

Style: power metal, progressive, symphonic metal, instrumental
Label: Pony Canyon Records
Year: 2002
Home: n/a/Japan

Members: Yngwie Malmsteen ~ guitar
Taizo Takemoto ~ conductor
Nabomi Mizuno ~ harp
Yasuhito Sugiyama ~ tuba
Yasushi Watanabe, Kenji Wada, Hiroshi Arakawa ~ flute
Junta Yagi, Ryuta Suzuki ~ harpsichord/organ
Hisato Yamaguchi, Nobuko Miyashita, Yasumitsu Eto, Ryota Fujii ~ trombone
Toshihiko Mitsunobu, Takaya Hattori, Kazuhiko Ichikawa ~ trumpet
Toru Yamada, Rika Yabiku, Tatsuya Kawase, Hikaru Kojima, Takaaki Kondo ~ drums/percussion
Takaaki Tsuboi, Junji Sekikawa, Akiko Mori, Hidemi Mikai, Akira Ishikawa, Akira Ueda, Takako Ueda, Shiro Ide, Shozo Aida, Nobuyoshi Asama, Daisaku Sakuma ~ horns
Koichi Morizono, Hitoshi Makita, Tsunefumi Ishida, Yoshihito Hiroshima, Otsuo Shibata, Tatsuya Anpo, Nobuaki Nakata ~ upright bass
Izumi Yamazaki, Sayaka Miyazawa, Megumi Koike, Shozo Kaibara, Hatsumi Ishida, Ai Ishida, Momoko Inagaki, Hiroko Ichiju, Keiko Kimura, Toru Kawakami, Noriko Karaki, Maki Horiuchi, Chizuru Koyama, Toru Hirota, Kaoru Hanazaki, Masamichi Hara, Takaaki Hara, Yoko Mase, Kenji Magaki, Mari Kuwata, Makiko Matsumiya, Eiji Nakaya, Fumiko Nakagawa, Mariko Nagata, Yasushi Morisawa, Hikaru Moriyama, Yoshie Sunahata, Yuji Soda, Eiji Shinohara, Noriko Nishimoto, Reo Tada, Kumi Tanaka, Asami Tamura, Masato Takahashi, Mio Unosawa, Hiroko Yamada, Sachiko Yamaguchi, Noriko Yamamoto, Yoichi Yoshitsuru, Akiko Yano, Keiko Yamazaki, Tomoko Yoshimura, Hayato Takenaka ~ strings
Ritsuyukai Choir ~ choir

Responding to critics that said his 1998 release Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar & Orchestra in E Flat Minor Op. 1 had overdubbed guitar parts YM set out to prove them wrong by re-recording the Suite live in full view of an audience with the New Japan Philharmonic behind him on stage. There was no question after, & there never should have been before, that YM is truly the super technically advanced player he claims to be & has proven over numerous recordings. The two recordings don't differ much except for some length changes in a few songs for the stage while the concert doesn't have the cold studio sheen, or to put it another way you can feel the air hanging between the players which is lost when parts are recorded individually & pieced together later. There's also less tonal variation by YM on stage where he's not switching guitars ... which leads to what is wrong with this recording & many of YM's albums - the lack of some much needed variety in his playing. YM has a particular well-honed style featuring notes flying from his fingers at amazing speeds, but after an hour of this all done in the same tone & maybe even the same key the result is less spectacular than it should be. But, YM is the king of anti-climactic showing off. He's never understood that lightening fast playing is great but there's also a time for slower more subtle playing & what was impressive thirty years ago eventually becomes less impressive. You can't show off forever though YM has tried his hardest to do just that, seemingly oblivious that a couple generations of inspired players have come after him with maybe not the same technique but with lots more variety. Plus, these players have found emotional pockets in their music which is nearly absent from YM's playing many a time. It's very difficult to have lightening fast technique that is still emotive. Very few players, regardless of the musical genre, have managed to walk that line successfully & usually it works because they balance the fire with the water. YM just keeps feeding the flames & wondering why everyone is walking away because they're feeling too hot. YM's albums, & this one is no exception if not actually a perfect example, tend to feel like one long solo that go nowhere & have nothing to say, versus intricately crafted songs. There are a few albums, particularly the early Rising Force days, that are stellar but YM has always had this need to constantly impress instead of just relaxing. Writing for a orchestra ... might that not be just another way to impress? It might also be a way to expand his music beyond what a rock band can offer. The problem is that he doesn't use the orchestra to its full potential or to accentuate his playing nor even to seemingly challenge him. Many rock musicians have recorded with an orchestra & most use only part of what such an ensemble offers not digging into its rhythmic & tonal abilities, not using it to make music on its own versus just accentuating what the band is doing. When YM plays it's all about YM. There is no other instrument of importance on stage. He could have done this Suite with multiple keyboardist to similar, though weaker, effect. YM solos for an hour while the orchestra just plays some weak ditties in the background. There's very little interplay or letting the orchestra ever step up to bat or being more than a gimmick. Rock musicians should take a page from Yanni's Live At The Acropolis where he doesn't even play piano or do much at all on many of his own songs as he's all about letting an orchestra reinterpret his past compositions, not showing off his particular keyboard skills. YM's "Cavallino Rampante" comes close to some intertwining lines, & so does "Fugue", though the later at times sounds like the guitar is trying to work against the harmony of the two by constantly adding flourishes when the two are supposed to be playing the same thing in sync. It's shooting sparks out of the fire when it should be flowing like water. But, Suite is not all bad. There are a few good moments if one is paying attention & can get beyond the monotony. "Brothers" is about as close as we get to an emotional piece but YM is still attempting to fill the air with as many notes as possible crowding out anything else including letting the emotion have a moment to itself. "Icarus Dream Fanfare" & "Adagio" include some good guitar lines, too. The seventh song in "Prelude To April" is the one piece which pushes the limit with a change of tone, choir & even some soft nearly acoustic playing & allows the orchestra to shine for the first time. More of this, please. Though the rapid fire solo kills the piece just as it begins to take off. Change of mind. No more of that. Thankfully "Sarabande" follows & picks up the pieces, but one shouldn't have to rescue a song with another one in a similar vein. As for this album being of interest to classical fans. Probably not. Too much guitar. & there's not much particularly Romero-esque about the guitar playing. Don't introduce your classical geek cousin to rock with this particular bridge. You'll never get a second chance. Theoretically, YM could have crafted an album that bridged both classical & rock fans. Billy Joel did this with his final studio album while many classical musicians have stepped across the bridge. But, it takes more than technical playing to woo a classical audience brought up on rushing musical landscapes & operatic posing. As for the "Suite" itself ... none of the songs really rise to any great height or are profoundly interesting & are just backdrops for solos. A solo isn't a song. It might be a little two or three minute bit on an album, yes, but it's not the entire album. If YM had some solo singing or a few guests that would have moved this concert miles forward ... but when YM performs there's only room for him. It's really a shame as for someone of YM's skill he could create magic that no other guitarist could touch. Instead he's been playing the same furious lines too much in love with his skills to realize the flash has lost its flash & most people want music with more depth. Joining the "Suite" there's also the added tracks of the orchestra only "Black Star Overture", plus "Brothers", "Trilogy Suite Op. 5: The First Movement" & "Blitzkrieg" as an encore which make this the more worthwhile of the two versions of the Suite to listen to.

Randy Coven ~ Funk Me Tender (album review) ... No treble for Malmsteen & Vai bassist!

Style: hard rock, funk, instrumental
Label: Guitar Recordings
Year: 1990
Home: New York

Members: Randy Coven ~ bass
Jim Hickey ~ guitars
Todd Turkisher ~ drums

Guests: Steve Vai, Al Pitrelli ~ guitar
Wayne Shuster ~ sax
Mark Wood ~ violin

Opening with an over the top distorted "Star Spangled Banner" a la Hendrix, Funk Me Tender features an eclectic mix of a dozen instrumentals spanning funk to rock, all strung together with the jazz-rock funky bass of Randy Coven of the bass school of T.M. Stevens, Billy Sheehan, Stanley Clark, Bootsy Collins and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. As a bassist myself I tend to gravitate more toward the other end of the spectrum such as Bill Wyman, John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler and some of the traditional jazz guys where the bass remains firmly a rhythm instrument, but there's no questioning Coven as a major talent. A highlight of the album is guitarist Jim Hickey whose loud distorted solos really give many of the songs their flavor and form, undoubtedly honed by years of the band playing together in gritty Tri-State clubs as the complicated rhythms and melody lines have a gritty urban sound. I find instrumental albums are also difficult ones to approach, let alone discuss. I find it hard to figure out whether it's good or bad as you can't base your ideas on traditional song structure of verse/chorus/verse/chorus. While, what can seem bad might only be reflective of the mood of the listener. Also, lyrics often dictate a mood of a song but that variable is absent. Though, "Toronto Blues" is a slow blues in both name and feel, but songs like "Manhattan Mama" "Tree" "Poached Antelope" and "Chopped Sewage" don't exactly imply any emotion, unless one is a member of Greenpeace. And, I hate to just look at the album from the point of view of technical prowess as Coven can definitely create some very emotional grooves. I do like the fact that the songs aren't completely centered on the guitar. Coven's bass, named Sammy, often sits right up front creating a duet style, akin to jazz pianist Bill Evans work with Scott LaFaro. The drumming is probably the only thing that is subdued, but it provides the important job of keeping the beat so everyone else can go to town. I will say that the instrumental flavor of the album largely shows it's age when such things were still frequent. Nobody is making albums like this anymore either in style or instrumental approach. Guesting on the album is Coven's collegemate Steve Vai with his recognizable slick sound. On "Uptown", playing an quasi-indistinguishable "second guitar" is Al Pitrelli in one of his earliest recordings, playing rhythm, a solo underneath Jim Hickey's solo and a little outro. He almost gets lost, though provides an interesting way of boosting the sound of the guitar without electronics or overdubs. He'd later play with Alice Cooper, Megadeth, Savatage, on some of their best output, along with their transformation into Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Violinist without compare Mark Wood, whose played with Celine Dion, also plays on two tracks. It's not everyday you get violin on a funky rock album, particularly sounding more like a keyboard than a guitar. For those interested in mid-80's instrumental prowess, or maybe I should say back in the days when such things still seemed to matter, Coven is a guy worth hunting for.