Goncalo Pereira
Upgrade
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Across the Atlantic from Portugal sails in Upgrade, an all instrumental rock and shred CD by Goncalo Pereira, a very talented and gifted composer. An eclectic musical background and prodigious technical ability allow Pereira to play different styles, ranging from blues to progressive power metal, funk, pop, classical, fusion and rock -- sometimes within the same piece. Voted "Best Portuguese Guitar Player of 1998" by one Portuguese music newspaper, Pereira's compositions are exciting and layered with the pounding drums of Filipe Gonclaves, the bass work of Dick and the agile keyboard solos of Alexandre Dinis. Also, a great album cover shot showing Pereira with six fingers on his left hand -- he plays as if he has seven! Instrumental Guitar, total running time, 63:56
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In Review
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'The Alchemists II'
Review Featured In Virtuosityone.com
By: Andy Craven
iquid Note Records are a small independent label that specialise in instrumental guitar music and their latest compilation The Alchemists II is out now. Home to 15 tracks from artists around the globe the album is chock full of great guitar and each track sees 2 guitarists team up which gives a nice variety throughout and nice exposure to what I suspect will be 30 new players for all but instrumental guitar fans out there.
Kicking things off is Australian guitarist Chris Brooks (who guested on the final Ring Of Fire album) and here he joins forces with Joe Chawki for “Unruly Elements”. The sound is highly progressive with the usual level of guitar wizardry you would expect from Brooks and gets things off to a nice start.
Pascal Vigne and Christophe Godin then take us down country streets for a slice of bonzo chicken pickin’ on “One Legged Chicken” and highly enjoyable it is to.
Terry Syrek then delivers a metal delight with a great riff and gonzo shred on “Threehundredpointtwentyone” and has Ron Thal (aka Bumblefoot) throw in a solo for good measure; this is another very listenable track albeit in a very different guise to one it follows.
Richard Hallebeek and Antti Kotikoski then bring the mood down for an this almost Pink Floyd meets fusion like air of calm in “Under The Influence” and its home to some great legato work from Antti, this is one of the most instantly accessible tracks on offer.
Carlos Creator’s “Space Antz” is a rock/funk type groove with a modern edge, fans of Satriani will instantly like this and Carlos throws in some very space-age type effects, Robert B. Rodrigo delivers a 30 second solo towards the end which is takes the heat up another few degrees.
William Stravato and Brett Garsed will be known names to guitarists that read this site and their contribution “Stratosphere” is home to two moods from the melodic to more aggressive, all this is done over a very nice backing track which also helps maintain the interest.
Stefan Rosqvist conjures up images of Steve Morse on “At Last”, another of the more melodic moments on the album with a strong melody and nice chord progression. Bo Eriksson also offers up some lap steel and steel guitar here to nice effect.
The fantastically titled “The Puffball That Ate My Village” from Phil Yaan Zek has a humourous edge yet sadly this does it make probably my least favourite on the album, fans of Zappa style musical humour may be able to get something from this but I found it rather weak with it not really ever going anywhere.
Arguably 2 of the 3 big names on the album are up next in Milan Polak and Marco Sfogli (James LaBrie) and their class really in self-evident on “Last Minute Call / The Saviour”. In this offering there is the as expected great guitar work from both, but its how they compliment each other very well for this progressive track with the pair trading licks in classic style and its arguably the highlight of the album.
The third big name in Dave Martone is up next and teams up with Chris Buono for “Fumble Fingers” which is a different take to that found on Martone’s recent solo album “When The Aliens Come”. The futuristic sound is once again in evidence and it will probably take most listeners a few spins to get into this one but ultimately is a strong track.
The album then takes on a the Spanish acoustic delights of “Tango Schizophrenia” from Si Hayden and Michael Berk is a great piece of 2 classical guitars with the right blend of mystical Mediterranean qualities and speedy fretwork in some of the solos and is another highlight, all this coming from gloomy Coventry in the UK!
“Warp Drive” from Gianluca Ferro is rock fusion funk meets prog workout which I initially found a little heavy going, but from the 4 minute mark your patience is rewarded when the Gianluca duels with guitarist Scott McGill and keyboardist Alex del Vecchio which makes the track.
Sven Stichter delivers another of the albums highlights in “In The Beginning” which is based over a sampled backdrop of loops, synth and strings. Thorsten Koechne delivers a couple of great solos which have a very nice moody melody with a definite sense of class about it and he also possesses a great vibrato.
Geoff Tyson and Doug Doppler perform “Butterfly/Free Love/Fruit Frenzy” which takes it cues from movie soundtracks with each segment of the title delivering a fresh scene. Clocking in at just over 7 and half minutes there is a lot to digest here, but its all done with great class and just pulls together to create another highlight, and these are two guys I am certainly going to check out further works from.
“Georgia In My Heart” from Dr Ika and Temur Kvitelashvili is a smooth fusion piece with a strong melody based on Georgian urban melodies mixed with western jazz and fusion. A calming way to end the album and one that will put you in a good mood as soon as you play it, an enjoyable way to end the album.
My initial fear when it came to reviewing this album was “how are you gonna make 15 tracks from 30 different artists sit well with each other?” Well special praise must go out to Phil Yaan Zek and LNR owner Matt Williams as they have managed to compile a very listenable and well produced instrumental album, which has a very good flow and is sure to find a welcome home in any household where there is a guitarist that appreciates great playing. Many of these names may well be new to you but take a chance as there is a lot of great music to be found here.
Rating - 90%
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Vol. 17, No. 2: Feb.-Mar. 2012
