One of the things I like most about guitar instrumental albums is the track titles.
Clearly, these lyrical expressions of the music contained therein need to be sufficiently eloquent to convey the writer's thoughts, mood and general emotional state when he did the writing. Or at least, that's the objective.
Here we have '
Street Demon',
'Fuel Injection Stingray',
'Cheer Girl Rampage' and
'Ballad Of The Barbie Bandits' to name but four. Cool, trashy, streetspeak song titles. You're thinking arcade games, Japanese cartoons and soft porn movies.
Ex Megadeath guitar man,
Marty Friedman is big in Japan. He is the label's darling, with his own TV programme. His gigs attract huge, enthusiastic crowds. His music has hit a Japanese nerve and they are screaming for more.
His 2007 album,
'Loudspeaker' was a great success and this,
'Exhibit A, Live In Europe' (the Japanese equivalent is '
Exhibit B, Live in Japan') is essentially the tour of the album.
Recorded quality is outstanding (assuming there are no studio overdubs). If you prefer the occasional bum note and stray screech of feedback to provide the live feel, then this recording will disappoint you.
Friedman knows how to shred, how to switch in mid sentence from heavy power riff to sweet pop chord progression and how to sustain a vibrant note. He runs the gamut from the blues to metal in the course of a single track.
The problem is this: it is the only formula he knows. Over 16 tracks it gets repetitive. Many tracks run into the next like they haven't noticed the lights have changed.
Sometimes technical expertise is lacking in emotion : perfection can often inhibit the expression of feeling. The album's initial beauty begins to unravel after half a dozen or so tracks. Already you suspect that it's only skin deep.
And while there are many head turners here, and many slick, seductive tunes, you wonder if you'll still love them in the morning.
For many, he needs to stop the crowd pleasers and stretch himself out of his comfort zone. Next time maybe.
Written by
Brian Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 5.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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