By: Clayton Walnum
ne thing is for sure: Curtis Reid covers a lot of territory on his latest album, Omniumgatherum, in spite of the fact that the album is on the short side, coming in at just 37:33 . If you had to file this album somewhere, you'd probably have to go with fusion rather than prog. Still, when you give this disc a spin, you will hear everything from ambient to blues, with plenty of stops in other territories along the way. Reid's guitar style, too, tends to morph with the compositions, one moment sounding like Eric Johnson and the next sounding like Allan Holdsworth or Jimi Hendrix.
The album begins with one of those nearly ambient pieces I mentioned (is that a real Echoplex? I haven't heard one of those in ages), but soon kicks it up a notch on the second track, "Application For President," which sounds like Eric Johnson playing a Joe Satriani song. Even Reid's tone on this track has that dark, yet power-packed, sound for which Johnson is famous. The third song, "The Ghosts of Narcissism," changes direction yet again, bringing to mind the kind of fusion you'd expect to hear from the mellow side of Allan Holdsworth. On this track, bassist Mario Mendivil draws upon a melodic playing style that reminds one of the late, great Jaco Pastorius.
Track 4, "Somewhere Between Theory And Forgiveness," is what you might call melodious ambient in style, with drifting guitar chordings and female voicings, all drenched in reverb. "Time Won't Change For Places To Wait" brings to mind the quieter side of Jimi Hendrix, but with a ripping solo with that Johnson guitar tone. It's the next track, "James Marshall," that actually serves as a nod to the great guitar slinger (Hendrix's full name was James Marshall Hendrix.) This one is a blues number, featuring more great guitar playing (though, ironically, not so much in the Hendrix style, except here and there) and soulful vocals, not to mention Nathan Mahl's Guy LeBlanc on Hammond organ. The album closes with a slow jazz piece.
All in all, this CD is an enjoyable listen that presents a talented guitarist in top form. Although Reid doesn't seem to know what style of music he wants to settle on, the listener is all the better for it, by getting a chance to hear Reid demonstrate his chops in various forms. Your only problem with this CD will be where to file it.
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