hat information I have read about this artist, indicates that he is and was a child prodigy on the guitar, and has been pretty much laboring away in the Chicago area in virtual obscurity for decades now. I should not be so surprised as I know a few great local talents who are only heroes to their immediate family and friends here close to home. So as often is the case, we are only getting to hear a small portion of the talent of musicians that live all around the world.
What struck me as a peculiarity about Eric Mantel's music, is just how many influences he seemed to be affected by, both as a composer and guitarist, growing up in the 70's provided his mainstay for musical influence, with many guitarists like : Hendrix, Beck, Trower, Rundgren, Clapton, DiMeola, Keaggy, etc. there was no shotage of original defining voices on the instrument to learn from during that era. Yet he also learned as much about the writing side of music, which appears to be an equal love of his many musical facets. With 20 tracks on this cd, Eight of them are vocal tunes, what you hear with Eric Mantel's music, is simply an artist who for his lifetime, took his talents and influences, and honed them into a singular, yet diverse original sounding recording.
While much of his music resides more in rock and/or instrumental guitar territory, there is much to offer the fans of fusion and prog ressive music, Eric lives up to the reputation of being a true guitar talent, he reminds me quite a lot of Eric Johnson in that he defies musical categorization, uses vocals, draws from a large range of influences, and has quite a bit of control of his instrument. He even sounds quite similar in guitar terms on a few songs to Eric Johnson. But overall, Mantel is his own musician, meerly paying tribute to the many artists that have affected his tastes and style. This cd is like a bag of mixed nuts, with quite a few to chose from, but all good in their own way.
This is a CD that rejects the atypical guitar virtuoso players we have been inundated with in the last decade, where riffs, licks, scales, power and speed are the prerequisites for young players, that profile only lead to a generation of unemployable shred players that have no unique voice, or ability to create music. While there have been a few that have defied that, the numbers are few and between. Eric Mantel however, is someone we probably should have been hearing back in the late 70's and early 80's, when artists like Steve Morse, Phil Keaggy, DiMeola, McLaughlin were showing that the guitar has many attributes and disciplines, which require not only talent, and a deft touch, but a receptive ear, and and open mind. That's where I am finding Eric's music, it's along those lines of variety. A musician that has as much to say with his voice as he does his instrument.
hat information I have read about this artist, indicates that he is and was a child prodigy on the guitar, and has been pretty much laboring away in the Chicago area in virtual obscurity for decades now. I should not be so surprised as I know a few great local talents who are only heroes to their immediate family and friends here close to home. So as often is the case, we are only getting to hear a small portion of the talent of musicians that live all around the world.
