Sound Proof (Greg Howe ‘Sound Proof’)
Greg is really, really good on this album. I really enjoy his playing and he’s actually got some great videos up on his website you should check out where he makes everything look so freakishly easy. There’s some brilliant stuff all over the record but possibly the pick is the title track. Sometimes it’s Vai territory, then it’s Return To Forever, then it’s over to Stevie Wonder… there’s a bit of everything for all!
Off the One (John McLaughlin ‘Floating Point’)
If you have an interest in jazz and in Indian music then you really must check this out. There’s an amazing DVD called Meeting of the Minds where you can see these guys in the studio making this album. It’s astonishing how quickly they all pick the pieces up. It’s definitely fascinating to watch how they all communicate with each other, in particular how they all huddle up and use Konokol. We’ve all been in situations like these but I wish I’d known Konokol! Would have made things a little easier. Actually, I’m pretty sure they haven’t heard the pieces until studio time but they soon lock in. These guys are some of the finest musicians working today and they certainly “turn up”! I particularly like the incredible Zitar playing from Niladri Kumar and the gorgeous slide paying of Debashish Bhattacharya. Two guys that guitarists could definitely learn a thing or two from. Off the One gets the pick for John’s amazing guitar solo, the guy spits stuff like this out without even breaking a sweat these days!
Echoplex (Nine Inch Nails ‘The Slip’)
I wish I could put stuff like this together. This is quite possibly one of my fave NIN tracks and I love how the riffs all build throughout the song. This track inspired about 60 pieces of my own that I had to leave hidden on my hard drive because they were simply too similar!
Head Down (Nine Inch Nails ‘The Slip’)
Yup, The Slip had a big influence on me in 2008. Not bad for something I downloaded for free! You simply can’t be grateful enough when someone is this generous! I bought the retail release too so as to complete my NIN shelf, get some awesome video footage and give something back. Again, this is another track with lots of simple cool riffs that add up to something bigger.
Nil Recurring (Porcupine Tree ‘Nil Recurring’)
Nil Recurring is a mini album of all the tracks that never made it onto the amazing 2007 Porcupine Tree release Fear of a Blank Planet. Nil Recurring features a certain Mr. Robert Fripp who is clearly a big influence on the guys.
We are quickly catching 2010 now! It certainly makes it harder to be broader with the choices as there’s so much music from these recent years I haven’t yet been fortunate to hear. I naturally seem to listen to stuff from an age ago anyway so definitely tell me of anything I need to go buy!
Have a great weekend folks!
Paul.
