rogressive rock guitar? Often an oxymoron at best, and at worst it takes months to get the shrapnel out of our ears. Curtis Reid comes out slammin' on the six-string and succeeds where so many others fail: Here we have blazing rock guitar with a melodic sensibility and tasteful restraint in this axemeister's amazing technique.
Reminiscent of the Dixie Dregs at times, Reid incorporates subtly refined guitar synth in spots, thus nicely expanding the tunes. Great grooves from the rhythm section of Dan Tomlinson on drums and Mike King on bass make it hard to pick a favorite song to cruise by. Just when you think you've got a handle on the biting guitar-driven numbers, he throws you a curve like the guitar-synth orchestral poen, "August 8".
Reid is a good composer for the "turn it up to 11" set (guitarists), as his dynamic shifts from tune to tune are right on the money. Highlights include the poignant acoustic number "The Dying Tree", the blazing "Kingsport", the haunting "Brigs Of Ayr", and the tasty syncopated phrasing of Reid and drummer Tomlinson on "Lot 49". How many guitar players does it take to change a light bulb? Ten -- one to do it, and nine stand around saying, "pretty good, but I could have done it better." Curtis Reid leaves them in the dark. Excellent.
rogressive rock guitar? Often an oxymoron at best, and at worst it takes months to get the shrapnel out of our ears. Curtis Reid comes out slammin' on the six-string and succeeds where so many others fail: Here we have blazing rock guitar with a melodic sensibility and tasteful restraint in this axemeister's amazing technique.
