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 JOHN WILLIAMS |
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JEFF BECK Jeff (Epic)
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JESSE
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JOHN
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LOS STRAITJACKETS
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ALIEN
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BRYON
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Attention Artists and Record Companies: Have your CD reviewed
in mwe3.com and 20th Century Guitar. Send to P.O. Box 630249, Little
Neck, N.Y. 11363-0249
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Following
in the footsteps of his last two CDs—Who Else! (1999) and
You Had It Coming (2001)—guitar great Jeff Beck released
his 14th album, Jeff during summer of 2003. Produced by Andy
Wright and recorded in London, Jeff covers a wide range of
cutting edge guitar sounds—from electronica and blues to Bulgarian
folk melodies and collaborations with Liverpool electronic trio Apollo
440, Splattercell guitarist David Torn and remix master
Mike Barbiero. Beck—along with guitarists Eric Clapton and
Jimmy Page—made his mark as the lead guitarist with The Yardbirds,
although the sound of Jeff is about as far from the catchy ‘60s
U.K. pop R&B sound of The Yardbirds as you can get. Describing the
hard-hitting heavy jazz instrumental sound of Jeff, the guitarist
adds, “I play guitar, but that’s rarely my starting point.
I play the way I do because it allows me to come up with the sickest
sounds possible. That’s the point now isn’t it? I don’t
care about the rules. In fact, if I don’t break the rules at least
10 times in every song then I’m not doing my job properly.”
Also featuring contributions from top players like Dean Garcia,
Tony Hymas, Steve Barney and The London Session Orchestra,
Jeff, is quite possibly his most fiery and
outrageous
album
yet. 
Having
sold over a million albums worldwide, Jesse Cook returns with his latest
foray into the realm of World-beat flamenco guitar. Recorded on three
different continents with guest artists from five different continents,
Nomad is an exotic and eclectic guitar-based foray into futuristic
World music that is described by Cook as “the points of musical
intersection between cultures of the world.”. A mixture of flamenco,
Gypsy, Arabic, Brazilian and American roots music, Nomad is also
infused with a vibrant rock energy thanks to contributions from roots
rockers The BoDeans and singer Danny Wilde of The Rembrandts.
Superbly produced by Simon Emmerson, Nomad also features
contributions from legendary Brazilian singer Flora Purim. One
of the rising stars on the current nouveau Flamenco guitar scene with
technique to burn, Cook further explains, “Some of my earliest
musical memories were of flamenco, and the music kept coming back to
me throughout my 17 years of music schooling. For me, it’s more
passionate and visceral than any other genre, it never needs to be explained.”
Released in 2003 on Narada World, Nomad follows the release
of previous Cook guitar classics including, Freefall, Tempest, Vertigo
and Gravity. 
Featuring
a rich tapestry of classical guitar stylings, the 2003 CD from guitar
great John Williams taps into the deep history of Venezuelan folk music.
The 26 track El Diablo Suelto examines the cross-cultural musical
influence that both Spain and Africa made upon Venezuelan music. According
to Williams, “The music of Venezuela is a vibrant mixture of three
cultures: the indigenous Indians, the Spanish who invaded them and the
Africans who were first brought to Venezuela by the Spanish as slaves,
but who also continued to arrive from other parts of the Caribbean until
the 1950’s.” With his legendary classical guitar skills in
peak form, Williams pays homage to a number of Venezuelan composers
including music legend Alirio Diaz, with Williams further adding,
“having first met Alirio Diaz when I was a boy of 12, I remember
now, 50 years later, with humility and affection, how much I have learnt
from him and just what an inspiration he has been to me in my love of
Venezuelan music.” For decades now, John Williams has connected
his extensive classical guitar knowledge and technique to a wealth of
music—from revered traditional classical guitar to indigenous World-beat
folk, pop and even guitar-based instrumental rock. Following up his
critically acclaimed 2001 African-flavored CD, The Magic Box,
Williams continues bridging musical realms with unparalleled ease with
the solo classical guitar sounds of El Diablo Suelto. 
A
band that’s done more than their fair share to keep the spirit
of instrumental rock and roll alive and well, Los Straitjackets return
in 2003 with a new studio album produced by veteran knob twirler Mark
Neill. According to Neill, “the songs had to sound like they
were thought up in a cave, a subterranean hole where crazy people could
play crazy music, then I’d bring it back. Everything on this album
is very weird, with very radial-sounding acoustics on it.” Started
by guitarists Danny Amis (a founding member of late ‘70s
surf-rock icons The Raybeats) and Eddie Angel back in
the mid ‘90s, Los Straitjackets have made some great albums since
then and they’ve also been featured on various soundtracks and
TV shows as well. It seems like their novel and outlandish approach
to vintage guitar rock is catching on with the masses and their new
CD on YepRoc, S.S.G.i.3-D is possibly their best yet.
Neill’s meticulous recording techniques really captures the creative
essence of the band. Amis and Angel receive invaluable support from
Pete Curry (bass) and Jimmy Lester (drums). Reviving and
reveling in the greatness of ‘60s favorites like the Ventures,
Shadows and Link Wray, Los Straitjackets bring it all back home with
S.S.G.i.3-D. In order to better view the colorful 3-D packaging
and artwork, the CD even includes a pair of 3-D sunglasses. 
Still
riding high with their dramatic approach to guitar-based, rock-soundtrack
instrumentals, Alien Cowboys return in 2003 with Lift. Perhaps
the quartet’s definitive statement on CD to date, the eleven track
instrumental album mixes inspired originals with well chosen rock instro
covers of The Beatles (“Hey Bulldog”), Hendrix (“Spanish
Castle Magic”) and legendary U.K. producer Joe Meek (“Telstar”).
Armed with a fresh batch of rocked-out guitar-based instrumentals, Alien
Cowboys assemble a winning combination on Lift. The first edition
of the CD features a bonus DVD video of the lead-off track “Escape
From ONLYON”. Aided by producer / engineer Bill Drescher,
guitarists Ralph Perucci (lead guitar), Bruce Stevenson
(rhythm guitar), Greg Jones (bass) and Ian Thomson (drums)
keep the Alien Cowboys flag flying high with Lift. 
Back
in the early and mid ‘60s—a few years before the advent of
jazz-rock and all the serious vibes that went along with it—guitarists
often made instrumental music for fun. The ‘60s was also the time
when the pop-based surf-rock instrumental sound of groups like The Ventures
and The Shadows and guitarists such as Duane Eddy were extremely popular
all around the planet. Thanks to the reemergence of ‘60s flavored
guitar instrumentals during the ‘90s, many guitarists returned
to the trend of composing melodies that—while not overtly simplistic—offered
the listener a chance to easily connect and even hum along with the
tune. One such guitarist putting the fun back into guitar instrumental
music again is Indiana-based guitarist Bryon Thompson who released his
third CD Get On With It in 2003. Performing all the instruments
himself, Thompson demonstrates his unique grasp of the guitar instrumental
genre on the nine track CD. Get On With It proves that often
the best music features melodies and arrangements that linger long after
the song is over.