rom Progressive Arts Music we have yet another metal guitarist gone solo, and well into the world of shred fusion, which when done with class has provided some of the more interesting music around. This cd features Steel Prophet guitarist Jimmy Williams, who handles all the instruments on Guitar Concepts. There is no mistaking that Williams is a big league shredder, his fleeting legato, and occasions to breaks of isolated soloing are the stuff that made the Shrapnel Label the campground for some of the worlds fastest and most accurate players around.
Ten songs of varied displays of Jimmy's skill serve notice to the shred guitar fusion community that there is more talent on the horizon, so you can put your Racer X, MacAlpine, Becker, Malmsteen, Howe & Kotzen cds away for a while:) Williams certainly fits into that list of musicians, yet it is on the song Temple of Artemis where I most enjoyed his playing, it's an all-acoustic song, with no accompaniment, a beautiful multi-track arrangement that shows a deft touch for picking and melodic soloing.
It is stated in the liner notes that the songs were recorded on a 4 track recorder, that would explain the lack of sincerity coming from the drum tracks, something that could and should enhance Jimmy's music in the future, sometimes when I hear a musician taking on every aspect of a musical production, seldom does it have the 'full package' in it's delivery, that seems to be the case here also, no doubt Williams is a highly skilled musician, and he has some great, innovative ideas, with more of a collaborative effort with other specialists (drummers, bassists, keys, etc.) this cd could easily acheive a higher level of professionalism.
I really enjoyed a lot of the songs on this cd, when a gutarist is this talented it is hard to overlook what skills are on display, and that is what one can expect, this cd serves notice of a guitarist on the way up, now, I can only hope that he is able to enlist some heavy hitter to back him up to add that factor of 'interplay' to the music, because here he is the only show. A great drummer, and a tasteful bassist would round things out perfectly. If you like the style of Vinnie Moore you would be very at home listening to this debut offering from Jimmy Williams.
rom Progressive Arts Music we have yet another metal guitarist gone solo, and well into the world of shred fusion, which when done with class has provided some of the more interesting music around. This cd features Steel Prophet guitarist Jimmy Williams, who handles all the instruments on Guitar Concepts. There is no mistaking that Williams is a big league shredder, his fleeting legato, and occasions to breaks of isolated soloing are the stuff that made the Shrapnel Label the campground for some of the worlds fastest and most accurate players around.