November 2002
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LOS STRAITJACKETS |
KOTARO OSHIO |
DOUG MUNRO |
VIC FLICK |
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MIKE OLDFIELD Tres Lunas (Warner Bros.) Fans
of U.K. progressive music icon Mike Oldfield will have to look all the
way to Spain to catch his latest masterpiece Tres Lunas where
it was released in mid 2002 on Warner Music Spain. It seems like
Spaina hub of Oldfield interest and a country with a time-honored
guitar legacyis the place Mike chose to release Tres Lunas.
Among the most intriguing and harmonious albums Oldfield has released
over the past 22 years, Tres Lunasdescribed as a chill
out album and an ultra ambient musical excursionwas conceived
during Oldfields recent time on the resort of Ibiza. Since his
late 1973 breakthrough Tubular Bells, Mike has always been on
the cutting edge of rock and pop and the mostly instrumental, lush sounding
Tres Lunas is an excellent showcase for his high-tech guitar
approach and studio wizardry. The title track is an instrumental masterpiece
and represents Oldfield at his most inventive. The addition of several
female vocalists including sister Sally Oldfield, Amar and
Jude Simespecially on the albums single pick To
Be Freemakes Tres Lunas a rewarding CD for anyone
still digs early 80s Oldfield masterpieces like QE2 and
Five Miles Out.
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CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO CG3+2 (IOMA) A
great sounding CD title for a recording that breaks new ground, CG3+2
unites the mighty California Guitar Trio with the one time King
Crimson rhythm section of Tony Levin (bass, stick) and Pat
Mastelotto (drums). The CGT are best known for their atmospheric
and minimalistic approach to improvised acoustic instrumental guitar
music and with the addition of the powerhouse team of Levin and Mastelotto,
CG3+2 really rocks. That enhanced musical punch comes into play
on the CDs 7+ minute cover of the 71 Yes gem Heart
Of The Sunrise, which is given a faithful and innovative instrumental
reading here. Knocking out listeners since they formed at a Robert Fripp
guitar seminar in England back in 87Bert Lams (guitar,
tenor guitar), Hideyo Moriya (guitar, mando-cello) and Paul
Richards (guitar, slide guitar)scale new heights on the Fall
2002 release of CG3+2. CGT also have a Christmas CD coming from
the prodigious, Pittsburgh-based progressive rock label, Inside Out
Music America just in time for the 2002 X-mas holidays called 10
Christmas Songsa disc previously only available on the
groups web site.
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LOS STRAITJACKETS 'Tis The Season For... (Yep Roc / Cavalcade)
Who better to deliver the rocking Christmas spirit than veteran guitar
instro-rockers Los Straitjackets. Yuletide favorites like Jingle
Bell Rock, Let It Snow, Sleigh Ride and
Feliz Navidad really come alive in an instrumental surf-rock
setting. Ever the perfectionists, guitarists Danny Amis and Eddie
Angel are in peak form once again and the excellent rhythm section
of Pete Curry and drummer Jimmy Lester covers all the
bases with ease. Theres even several group originals to add the
the mix. Close your eyes for a minute and you can almost imagine its
1962 again with these holiday songs coming out of you little 60s
AM radio. Packed with one rocking X-mas song after another, the colorful
13 track Tis The Season For Los Straitjackets is a musical
marvel.
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KOTARO OSHIO Starting Point (Narada) Japanese
guitar wiz Oshio jammed with B.B. King at the 2002 Montreaux Jazz Festival
and now everyone can hear what the crowds were raving about on his Narada
Records debut CD. A master of the acoustic guitar, the 34 year old Oshio
sounds influenced by favorites like Leo Kottke and Pat Metheny, yet
on Starting Point he arrives with a graceful, full-bodied fingerstyle
acoustic guitar sound that skillfully accents both melody and rhythm
in a most unique way. You can sometimes judge an artist by the music
he chooses to cover and on Starting Point Oshio tastefully revives
Ryuichi Sakamotos elegant Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
and the ever popular The Third Man Theme by Anton Karas.
Decked out with cool album art and track by track liner notes by Oshio,
Starting Point is a fine introduction to an major new guitar
talent.
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DOUG MUNRO Guitars (Purchase) A
superb mix of well known pop and jazz standards played in a jazzy flamenco
style, this 2001 CD spotlights the accomplished guitar skills of New
York-based jazz guitarist Doug Munro. For Guitars Munro
is accompanied by one of the hottest new flamenco players from Spain,
Mariano Mangas and the result is a elegant fusion of Bossa Nova,
Rhumba, Swing and Bolero. In between some fine Munro and Mangas originals
are well-chosen covers of standards such as Manha De Carnival
and Autumn Leaves along with a pair of guitar duo medleys
that combine Concerto De Aranjuez with Feelings
and 16 Tons with The Pink Panther Theme. A superbly
recorded, well planned duet CD that combines Munros gentle, provocative
electric guitar lines with Marianos charismatic Flamenco passion,
Guitars is an album made by guitar lovers for guitar lovers.
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VIC FLICK James Bond Now (VF) We
might be looking at those James Bond films a lot differently
had it not been for that ominous guitar riff of The James Bond
Theme as it was played by British guitar ace Vic Flick in Dr.
No in 1962. Vic Flick joined The John Barry Seven way
back in 1958, just in time to put his trademark guitar sound on Barry
classics like Hit & Miss, Beat For Beatniks
and a 1960 version of Walk Dont Run. Flicks
guitar riff on the Sevens version of The James Bond Theme
inspired so many young British musicians to pick up the instrument themselves
and to this day Flick seems genuinely humbled by the respect that big
name U.K. guitarists still bestow on him. When Barry further developed
The John Barry Orchestra, Flick found success on his own as a
top flight session guitarist at the start of the fabled British pop
invasion of the 60s. After many years out of the spotlight,
Flick thankfully decided to return in 2002 with James Bond Now.
With Flick assisted by several fine players, the ten track CD is highlighted
by a rocking version of The James Bond Theme and a gripping
new take on Barrys 1971 Diamonds Are Forever.
Still making music history as a recording guitarist, Vic was happy to
speak to MWE3.COM and 20th Century Guitar reviews editor Robert Silverstein
about his new album while also looking back on the golden years of the
60s.
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