Yngwie Johan Malmsteen - Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor Op. 1

 

This shred metal Johan pulled a Bach.

Pull out your best headphones, turn down the lights, close the door and sit in your most comfortable chair.  We are going on a journey into genius with a virtuoso guitarist.

Yngwie Johan Malmsteen is one of the greatest technical guitarists ever to grace the earth. Born in Sweden in 1963, he gained stardom in the mid-1980’s with his neo-classical approach to heavy metal guitar.  His best known album is Odyssey and, if you haven’t heard it, you should or, for that matter listen to any of his other heavy metal releases. He continues to produce one amazing release after another and his stage shows are legendary. However, even he will tell you that his masterpiece was not a heavy metal album.

In 1998 Malmsteen wrote Concerto Suite For Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E Flat Minor Opus 1 and performed and recorded it with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague.  Here is Malmsteen at his most expressive.  On just the first of twelve tracks, or should I say movements, “Icarus Dream Fanfare,” he makes his guitar sound like a violin, a cello, and somehow it is still amazing clean shred metal guitar backed by a complete orchestra that gives the entire production classic majesty and grace.  Like any great classical music it brings you through dramatic highs and lows and you get lost in the music.

The second movement, “Cavalino Rampante,” is an unusual piece akin to a rushed dirge.  You  can feel the lonesome landscape of Sweden in the fading Arctic winter light as Malmsteen plays counterpoint to the orchestra’s clipped strings and building tension.

The piece “Fugue” speeds down a slope in a waltz of frantically pick strings and twirls in unison as echoed voices rise to the call of the percussion.  It’s like Disney’s “Fantasia” with Mickey playing a electric guitar instead of a pail and mop.

The fourth track “Prelude to April” promises a sad romance. Malmsteen plays a nylon string acoustic guitar. He and the orchestra take us on a faintly classical Spanish journey with a sustained eeriness and building rush.  It is followed by another movement, “Toccata,” where Malmsteen’s nylon string guitar fronts a sustained orchestral eeriness in order to showcase Malmsteen’s guitar virtuosity.

For “Andante” Malmsteen pulls out the electric guitar.  This is a soaring composition with a repeated melody.  I can close my eyes and see armies on the march.

The seventh movement, “Sarabande,” returns Malmsteen to the acoustic guitar.  This time he displays some of the fastest musical acoustical lead progressions that I have ever heard. 

The “Allegro” explodes and the “Adagio” complains.  Concerto themes are repeated and Malmsteen adds an electric guitar that wails, cries and talks to the orchestra.  There is a conversation going on  and you’re right in the middle of it.

The start of “Vivance” is thunderous.  The guitar playing is exacting and frenetic. The tenth movement builds and then, as if clouds have parted, Malmsteen’s guitar is allowed to shine and plea. Then the orchestra answers. 

“Presto Vivace” is the penultimate, the track that leads to the “Finale.”  Here, Malmsteen brings all of his themes together. It is a fast and furious gathering with echoed voices, swirling guitar, flying fingers, flying notes, bursts of timpani and cymbal and, ultimately, the “Finale” grace note.
This is the album that Malmsteen calls his “pièce de résistance.”  Who am I to argue with that?

- Old School

Derin Dow – Retroactive

An open letter of apology to Derin Dow:

Sorry man, I did it.  I broke the cardinal rule of being a music lover—I judged the album by the cover. 

Now admittedly, and I think you’ll agree, the cover of your dynamite album, Retroactive, er . . . leaves a little to be desired.  Not that it’s bad mind you, but it’s hardly an eye catcher, and in some ways looks a tad amateurish.  And in truth, I’m no fan of guitar heroes.  Just mention the names Malmsteen, Satriani, or Vai to me and my eyes will glaze over as if I was in an amnesiastic fugue.  Add in this day and age of proTools and desktop publishing, the thought that any schmoe can strap on a guitar and force-feed me 40 minutes of string-wankery, unleashing that slop to the general public . . . well . . . it made me wary.

And sorry again, but the first song “Friday,” did nothing to dispel my fears.  Sure there was some nice playing on it, but let’s be honest, it’s not the best demonstration of your talents.  With it’s retro-80’s hair metal vibe and a chorus of “Baby, I’m banging it out on a Friday/I won’t be back until Monday,” . . . well, again, I felt my sphincter tightening, believing I was gonna be in for a long 40 minutes.

Now’s where the apology comes in.  The second track “Signature” was better by far.  That nice strum of the acoustic, that searing guitar-verse lead guitar, that motoring pace and rhythm, your voice sounding so much stronger and more nuanced -- my ears perked up.  Now I could see where you were coming from, the glory days of the melodic rock of the 80’s when guys like Aldo Nova provided guitar heroics. It should have hit me sooner, after all the album’s title is Retroactive, but I’m a tad dense at times.  “Door to Your Heart,” maintained my new found interest with its gorgeous piano intro and your tale of love lost, but it was the freak-out of an instrumental “Lower the Boom” that really made me jump to my feet and take notice.

Folks, take this apology to heart.  What we got here is one damn fine blitzkrieg of good old-fashioned guitar magic.  A pure nugget of melodic rock/AOR treasure with that extra spark of something special.   Listening to “Lower the Boom,” the only word my mouth could utter was, “wow!”  This song jams about as hard as any of the best rock instrumentals I’ve heard.  I was mesmerized by that dramatic chord progression leading into a blistering world of guitar heat.  Think Jeff Beck, think Pat Travers.  You could probably think Satriani. I personally was thinking of Tommy Bolin and anybody that can ever bring the thought of Bolin into my mind is alright with me.  My only complaint was that at 2’45” long it was way too short (and trust me, that’s not usually something I say about rock instrumentals).  I wanted an 8 minute freakout, a 10 minute extravaganza.  Hell, pour it over both sides of an LP and I bet I still wouldn’t be satisfied.

Now fully attentive, I waited eagerly to see what else you could pull off your fretboard, and the rest of the album didn’t disappoint.   “Right Side of the Road,” is another standout track, with just another electrifying assault of shredding guitar.  Derin, you chose some great people to accompany you on this album, primarily Chris Pinnick, whose chops provide the terrific leads in these last two songs.  But throughout, the playing is stellar.  “Right Side of the Road,” picks up right where “Lower the Boom,” left off, that gorgeous guitar tone slicing through the opening chords, and here I think you’ve found you best vocal work and melody.  More Travers here?  Some REO?  No matter which way you slice it, the song just kicks ferocious ass. 

From there, the rest of the album is just a sparkler.  “Runnin’ to Win,” is a strong mid-tempo melodic rock staple with a freaking cool mid-song breakdown and sing-a-long chorus.  “Inside,” recaptures some of that stellar guitar-vibe with it’s clean tone and building choral break.  And, wonders of wonders, after the intensity of “Lower the Boom,” I found myself actually looking forward to the closing instrumental “Feelin’ Free.”  Once again, you didn’t disappoint.  With it’s strong jazzy feel, and Pinnick’s tasteful leads, you ended the album on a high note.

I now sit before you humbled, my hat in hand, crow in mouth.  Thanks for dropping such a sparkling retro-80’s guitar bomb into my lap, and thanks for keeping me honest and open in the way I listen to music.  I promise, I won’t make that same mistake again.


--Racer

www.derindow.com

Van Halen – Fair Warning

How criminally underappreciated is Fair Warning?!?!? Let’s face it, when most people talk about the brilliance of Van Halen, more times than not, all we hear is Van Halen I, a couple of nods towards II . . . man nod of approval for Diver Down or Women and Children First . . . but time and time again, when I mention Fair Warning, I get a blank stare as if the person has never heard the name of the album or I get some ambivalent and dismissive shrug. At least with the blank stare response, I can always whip out a copy of the album and educate to the sonic pleasure, musical diversity, and pleasantly surprising experience of this disc. The ambivalent shrug just irks me.

I don’t know all of the background history to the album, I don’t know what production techniques that producer Ted Templeton used, and I haven’t the foggiest notion what type of gear the boys are jammin’ with, but what I do know, I hear with my ears and I feel with my soul. Fair Warning has beastly brawn, sultry swagger, and a jazzy groove that takes me places that no other Van Halen, Roth or Hagar crooned, has taken me before or since. Eddie’s guitar playing should go without mention, but from one song to the next, I hear things that consistently surprise me. Michael Anthony plays with a soulful, damn funky groove that I had never picked up on before. Alex’s skin bashing is of its own legend, but on Fair Warning, he plays with as much animalistic fervor as he does swing. And, of course, you have David Lee Roth in his charismatic prime, completely enveloped in the role of lead man, coming across more as an X rated narrator than any singer I had ever heard. The four parts combine to create an album that exhibits the classic VH stomp and blatant lack of self respect for good health.

The two singles that come to mind from this album are the album opener “Mean Street” and the unbridled and gritty “Unchained.” Both songs are classic Van Halen in that they move with a massive and aggressive head of steam, but with a heavy element of fun that is lost in today’s heavy metal. When that oppressive opening riff of “Unchained” starts chugging from the left speaker, you can feel that something ominous is making its way into your life. The tight pocket playing of Michael Anthony in tandem with Alex is a key component to this song driving as hard as it does. Their individual approaches aren’t so much based on technique as they are on attitude, but that’s pretty much always been the M.O. to this band. When one mentions technical brilliance within the context of Van Halen, those references undoubtedly are aimed at Eddie’s playing. But I’d like to think that Eddie’s flash and pizzazz would be just that without the rock steady power of this rhythm section.

Of course, just as I make a statement like that, Van Halen challenges me to rethink these earlier ideas. “Push Comes to Shove” is a song that stunned me the first time I heard it because it was almost anti-Van Halen in its sound. Filled with jazzy guitar runs, funked out bass lines, a straight forward drum approach, and Roth’s raspy vocal styling, “Push Comes to Shove” suddenly made me stop mopping the floor and simply stare at the amazing flurry of sound emanating from my floor speakers. This heavy funk, jazzy fusion-y concoction was coming on directly after “Unchained?” Are you freaking kidding me?!?!? The only reason I can think that this song wasn’t talked about more was because in the early 80’s, Van Halen were expected to be a heavier type band, a guitar driven band, a rock band . . . everything that this song was not. But you know what? “Push Comes to Shove” is easily the most interesting piece of music that I’ve ever heard from this classic outfit. The guitar work alone is mystifying. Eddie, almost unconsciously, makes the shift from full on jazz fusion passages to palm muted metal riffagery to stratospheric guitar solo, encompassing so many different styles in the course of a brief four minute lapse of sanity. But again, Eddie’s incredible guitar work wouldn’t mean a thing by itself or over a piece of music that was half assed. The VH rhythm section doesn’t get the credit they deserve for driving a song, but here’s a new wrinkle for you. Check out Michael Anthony’s bass work throughout this track. His hands are flying all of the neck of his bass, creating wild sounds as if he were competing with Eddie for the spotlight. And DLR’s vocal performance is the epitome of cool. He simply conveys an emotion to this song that no other vocalist could, and part of that is probably due to the image that he’d creating of himself at this point in history. The whole damn thing works and “Push Comes to Shove” is the red headed step child in the Van Halen catalog, but for all the wrong reasons.

Ultimately, what has made Van Halen so good has been their ability to fuse the good times vibes into their musically solid sound. “Mean Street,” as heavy, hard rockin’, and technically proficient as it is still has a thick vein of sheer exuberance running through it. The same can be said about “Dirty Movies” or “Sinner’s Swing!” or “So This Is Love?” One doesn’t listen to these songs and think that the band are made up of a bunch of tough guys so much as it’s made up of beer swillin’ comedians who are more interested in chasing tail that bloodying knuckles. In particular, “Sinner’s Swing!” will get the toes tapping in time with the beat as we hear Roth hoot and holler in classic DLR fashion about finding a piece of ass and tappin’ it. With the backing vocals from the band, one can actually image the rest of the band standing on the sidelines cheering on their front man. Seriously . . . how can anyone feel menaced by a song as fun as this? It’s just good ole rock n’ roll.

In the 70’s and 80’s, Van Halen was the ultimate party band. This band influenced countless Los Angeles bands who tried to follow in their footsteps of debauchery and questionable taste. In doing so, they unexpectedly created an even worse hybrid of rock n’ roll. Hair Metal. But who wouldn’t want to emulate their heroes when one gets to hear such fabulous tales of getting gussied up in their finest duds and hitting the streets in search of legal (and illegal) intoxicants and hot broads? Fair Warning has become that Van Halen gem that transcends the rest of their catalog because every tune offers something new and exciting. Hard rockin’ metallic jams mixed with jazz fusion and funk rock . . . c’mon, are you kidding me? What’s not to like there? Where most of the pre-1984 Roth-era Van Halen leaves me craving a bit more musical creativity, Fair Warning is the disc that satisfies every need I could want. I’m usually left exhausted after listening to it because it’s so complete. It rocks on a primal level, it grooves with sexual vibrancy, it’s compelling from a heady, musical stand point, and most of all . . . its God damn fun! - Pope JTE

Buy here: Fair Warning



http://www.van-halen.com/