The Music That Delivers The Goods

I've been listening to a lot more music lately. More so than gaming. Here I'd like to talk about some of the music that delivers the goods-the emotional content, the cool riffs, the outstanding improvisation, and more.

I usually like to listen to a lot of music that I've heard before. A major part of that is that quite frankly I've heard a lot of music-perhaps too much. A lot of people my age wouldn't know most of the music I listen to. No, I'm not being condescending, I'm just stating the facts. There are people my age who don't even know Strawberry Fields by the Beatles. Sad, yes. But true. Anyways, let's talk about the music I've been listening to and perhaps provide a little insight on why I keep coming back to it and gravitating to it.

First off, Death. The brutal death metal band from Florida that came to popular acclaim in the 1990s. I was talking to an older musician co-worker earlier tonight and he said that the singer from Death (Chuck Schuldiner) was considered the great hope for metal back then. But then he suddenly died due to brain cancer. He's considered the Godfather of Death Metal and had this great voice that wasn't cookie monster vocals that you hear in pretty much every death metal group. Not only were his vocals great but his guitar playing was spot on. He could do great leads as well as phenomenal rhythm.

I've been feeling Death a lot lately because I've been feeling a little angry. I like to display my anger through my guitar playing (shredding fast neoclassical licks and playing jazz standards) but sometimes you just need that raw guttural death metal style growls to satisfy the beast within. Am I evil? Probably. Haha.

Right now I'm relaxing listening to Hendrix. Hendrix is an artist I will always respect, love, and admire until the day I die. He's literally the greatest guitar player that ever lived, one of the best songwriters, and one of the best rock and rollers. He was cooler than all the Beatles combined. His music is so bluesy and jazzy but he's also a true rock and roller. The Band of Gypsies album is the one I always listen to whenever I feel the need to listen to Hendrix. And I always like hearing Little Wing. 

Hendrix's music soothes my soul. Every aspect of the music is spiritually uplifting-if you believe in that sort of thing. It's like how Hendrix described his music, as "electric church music". It's great! I've learned a lot from Hendrix about guitar playing and what it means to be a truly great musician. I'll continue to learn from him through his music.

Next up, I'd like to talk about John Coltrane and Charlie Parker. Too very different kinds of saxophonists. Trane is a tenor sax player who went on to become one of the greatest musicians of all time. The same for Parker except he played alto.

I dig a lot of Trane's music because of how uplifting and spiritual it is. The wide range of emotions displayed through musical techniques, style, and sound are baffling but rewarding. Towards the end of Trane's career he was booed and shunned because he wasn't playing bebop and My Favorite Things. The truth is that Trane took jazz to the furthest edge that it could go-further beyond. Jazz can't go further than that. Trane and Ornette Coleman were the last revolutionary changes to come to jazz. Quite remarkable. That's why he's my favorite musician.

With Charlie Parker it's a different sort of inspiration. I'm in awe of Parker's technique and sound more so than his compositions or emotional range. He played all the best songs-the jazz standards of the day that are still popular now. I can hum a lot of stuff he played and its pretty technical but it's always melodic and catchy. His influence was so vast on jazz musicians-even me, an electric guitarist in 2016. Who would've thought, right? I can see his influence on people like Trane and Eric Dolphy too, even though those guys are totally different jazz cats.

Different moods call for different music. Who knows, maybe I'll start listening to rap sometime soon. 

Hot Rats

Earlier tonight I saw an acquaintance wearing a Frank Zappa Hot Rats tee. So if you're reading this man this a tribute to you. Anyways, Hots Rats has been one of my favorite albums since I was a high schooler. Frank's music has a special place in my heart because when I was a kid I thought he was the coolest musician ever. I put him on the same level as Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, and the Rolling Stones. He played the guitar, wrote hilarious lyrics and great tunes, and his overall persona and attitude was pretty much a big fuck you to the status quo-which made him very punk in a way. I admired his genius but more importantly I believed in his ideals.

For example I agree with him that everyone should vote. People should think for themselves. You can do whatever you want to do as long as you don't harm yourself or others. Drugs and alcohol can fuck you up. These are attitudes that I still hold to this day even though I'm no longer a young man (sorta). When I look back at his work I can say with full confidence that this album was Zappa at his peak. I used to have a school friend and I would come over just to listen to his Zappa vinyl records. Good times. The cool thing about this record is that it's as close to jazz as Zappa gets. Downbeat gave this album a rave review when it first came out in 1969. This album also had a big influence on jazz fusion (jazz-rock).

Personnel

• Frank Zappa – guitar, octave bass, percussion
• Ian Underwood – piano, organus maximus, flute, all clarinets, all saxes

Also featuring

• Max Bennett – bass on all tracks except "Peaches en Regalia"
• Captain Beefheart – vocals on "Willie the Pimp"
• John Guerin – drums on "Willie the Pimp", "Little Umbrellas" and "It Must Be a Camel"
• Don "Sugarcane" Harris – violin on "Willie the Pimp" and "The Gumbo Variations"
• Paul Humphrey – drums on "Son of Mr. Green Genes" and "The Gumbo Variations"
• Shuggie Otis – bass on "Peaches en Regalia"
• Jean-Luc Ponty – violin on "It Must Be a Camel"
• Ron Selico – drums on "Peaches en Regalia"
• Lowell George – rhythm guitar (uncredited)

Production

• Producer: Frank Zappa
• Director of engineering: Dick Kunc
• Engineers: Cliff Goldstein, Jack Hunt, Brian Ingoldsby, Dick Kunc
• Arranger: Frank Zappa
• Cover design: Cal Schenkel
• Design: Cal Schenkel, John Williams

Let's talk about the music.

The album starts out with a beautiful song called Peaches En Regalia. Arguably one of Frank's best instrumental works. It's heavily orchestrated with lush keyboard chords, orchestral instruments, and guitar. You can definitely hear the music concrete part of Frank's music here.This is the kind of song that once you hear you can see the beauty in Frank's music-his parody songs aside. From this tune we can see his inner composer and see that he was influenced by classical artists like Stravinsky and Edgar Verese. The tune has so many complex rhythms but the melody remains beautiful throughout. It's a short piece but it does so much in its short time frame. It's also totally jazz despite the heavy orchestration. Very challenging and demanding music. This is one of Zappa's best known tunes. For good reason-its one of his best.

The next tune is a rock number called Wllie The Pimp featuring Zappa's childhood friend-Captain Beefheart! His vocal style is raspy and bluesy. And he does a lot of whoop whoop sounds as Frank goes into one of the greatest recorded guitar solos ever. The thing that's so great about the guitar solo is that its heavily structured and edited but it sounds like it was all recorded in one take. It just seems like its all live but its all edited performances. The title Hot Rats comes from lyrics from this song.

One thing that should be said is that back then Zappa already had a defined lead guitar style. However, back then he wasn't as complex as he would get as the 70's or 80's era. He was still developing as a musician but he was already guitar god status. Although the song might seem meandering to people who don't play instruments the fact of the matter is that the solo flows nicely despite being super long. It all fits together like pieces of a puzzle.

Next, we have Son of Mr.Green Genes. This is a total jazz number. It's heavily orchestrated like Peaches En Regalia but appears to be even more jazz influenced. Sounds like Frank was listening to Eric Dolphy. The vibe of the music is uplifting. Frank definitely knew how to write great melodies. Although the song is cluttered with tons of different instruments all at the same time and I don't like orchestration in my jazz I find it great here. Maybe its the fact that every instrument seems to have a well defined style and tone. Nothing sounds like its too much or out of place.

There's even guitar solos that are totally blues-inspired. That was Frank's Clarence Gatemouth Brown and Guitar Slim influences. Those are some great blues guitarists that Frank listened to as a kid. As long as the guitar solo is, again, I have to say that its all edited so well that it sounds like it flows perfectly together. There's so many chord changes being flown all over the place its like a jazz music theory masterclass. This is the kind of music that all musicians would agree is technically great but also musically pleasing to the ear. You gotta have melody in there too alongside the masterful technique.

Then there's Little Umbrellas. Strange name for a tune but if you compare the name and style of this tune to something like Eric Dolphy you can see how its jazz. It's a short piece like Peaches En Regalia that features beautiful melodies played on keyboards and synthesizers. This album makes heavy use of keyboards and synthesizers-which would play a big role in the development of jazz fusion. There's very little acoustic piano on this record-its all electronic except for the horns and orchestral instruments' parts. Here you can notice the nuances between the electronics and the acoustic instruments. Really cool to hear how they mesh together.

After that we have the Gumbo Variations. This is a jam featuring a tenor saxophone solo by Ian Underwood (who played all the keyboards and woodwinds), some electric violin playing by Don 'Sugarcane" Harris, and a guitar solo by Zappa. It's what an open jam should sound like. Frank is heard calling out the tune saying,"A one, a two, a three, a four" and they all start playing. What stands out here is Ian Underwood's tenor sax solo. He can play straight ahead and pop jazz saxophone like saxophone on classic rock records but he can also do squeeking, honking, etc (free jazz saxophone techniques). He does a lot with his technique. You can tell he was inspired by people like John Coltrane especially with all the free jazz elements in his playing.

After the sax solo there's a sick electric violin solo. This was the first time I'd ever heard an electric violin but there was a time where I rehearsed with a jazz fusion band and I got to hear it live in person. Great instrument. Not light on the ears that's for sure. What stands out during this solo is Zappa's guitar comping. He's playing these funky rhythms that sounds like something off a Motown or James Brown record. Or perhaps Herbie Hancock Headhunters. But this is before that stuff. The violin playing is phenomenal and reminds me of my jazz fusion days listening to Jean Luc Ponty-who also worked with Zappa in the early 70's. After the violin solo Frank goes into this insane wah-wah guitar solo. When I heard this as a kid I knew that I had to get a wah pedal for my guitar. This is what a good jam sounds like.

Lastly, the album ends with It Must Be A Camel. This tune features a violin performance by none other than Jean Luc Ponty-who would go on to make a name for himself as a solo jazz fusion musician. He worked with Zappa in the early 70s as well as the Mahavishnu Orchestra before putting out his own records. The highly unusual melodic leaps and rhythms of this tune look like humps on the manuscript music paper so perhaps that's why it has this title. It's a calming tune to end an album that has a lot going on. As melancholy as the tune sounds it also has a certain beauty to it. Great way to end an album.

In conclusion, this album is musically stunning. Bridging the gap between jazz and rock before fusion was even a thing. Frank Zappa was most definitely trying to leave a legacy when he wrote and recorded this music. This isn't lightweight jazz rock music. It's an important part of jazz and rock music history that needs to be remembered. Zappa isn't dead, he just smells funny.

Michael Landau Group at the Baked Potato

     Saw a pretty cool concert tonight at the Baked Potato. This is my third time there. This wasn't as good as the last show I saw there, but still better than the first show. I saw the Michael Landau Group, which consists of Michael Landau on guitar, Reggie Hamilton on bass, and Gary Novak on drums. I gotta say first of all that Landau is a great guitar player but I can see that most of his skills come from being a session player, and that perhaps he doesn't really have much of a career going for him in terms of the performer context. The one thing that surprised me was that he has such an amazing rhythm section, why don't they get to play any solos? The obvious answer is because Landau is the leader but with a bass player and drummer that good, its a bit wrong not to feature them. The style of music they play is more akin to blues-rock and progressive-rock, but most of what they played was based on the blues. There are moments where he adds some spice to the chords, maybe playing some slightly jazz sounding chords but I wouldn't call Landau a jazz guitarist. I noticed his favorite chord is a simple bluesy 9th chord. However, Reggie Hamilton sounds like a jazz bass player to me, I could see him playing jazz fusion or standards. Same with the drummer. When it comes to improvisation I'd say that Landau is great when it comes to great rock and blues licks, and he adds a lot of chromatic jazzy licks in there as well, but his improvisation only goes so far. However, he does have his moments and those moments were amazing! There were times when he pulled off these great blues licks that sounded just like stuff Jeff Beck would play. Another great thing about Landau's guitar playing is that he has a great guitar tone. He sounds like Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Johnson, all great players with great tone. Do I think he has his own sound and personality? Sound, probably not. But I do think he has his own personality and unique sound as a player, one of the all time great achievements in being a musician. Part of his own voice is that he rarely ever 'goes for it' when he's playing solos. By that I mean he never gets into a show off-y kind of thing, he's very relaxed and he's always holding back until just the perfect moment to cut loose with a flurry of blues based licks. It's actually amazing how he never overplays. If anything, he underplays, which me and my friend both agreed he did that.
     Now, let's talk about the rhythm section. Reggie Hamilton is an amazing bass player but he played much better bass just warming up before the show started testing out his 12-string bass with a huge neck. He played some jazz stuff on it but when it came to the band playing together, he was confined to simply playing root notes and background, not even really playing fills. He is another great example of not overplaying. But when you don't overplay to the point where everything you play is very simple, you run the risk of underplaying, which I felt happened for sure. I don't think regular people notice it that much but musicians can definitely tell. Its a shame because he sounded like a monster bass player when he was testing out some jazz stuff on his 12-string bass but when he was playing it with the band he was just playing single note stuff. A little underwhelming but he did have a great sound. It's hard to say who he sounds like as a bass player because I'm not familiar with enough great black bass players to say who's who, but he does sound like a funky bass player from the 70's, that's for sure. I think Hamilton is probably the most talented musician in the band, especially judging from the jazz stuff he was playing just testing out his bass before the show started.
     Next, Gary Novak is a good driving drummer. Again, he kind of underplays. I would say he had maybe one moment where he sort of kind of had a drum solo, but I don't think I can call it a drum solo because it was just a flurry of great fills, but it only lasted like 30 seconds. They could've let him stretch it out a little bit longer than that! His style is really good. He's a great all around drummer and he can even do a bit of that fusion stuff, he sounded great on the more moody jazzy sounding stuff, especially his cymbal work. I could see him working in a fusion context for sure, he would probably sound better than doing simple blues-rock stuff. He sticks to the rhythm mainly, and he doesn't really add too many fills, a great drummer for a leader who doesn't want a a drummer who shows off. He was really good.
     Lastly, it was a bit hard to enjoy the show because I was standing in the back. However, I was able to see all of the musicians clearly, especially the guitar so that was cool and satisfying for the money I paid. It's become a hang out place for me lately, but it isn't cheap. It was $25 at the door plus 2 drinks that came out to $14, not exactly cheap for me because I only work part time. However, it is worth the money and I did enjoy it. Even my friend had a good time. The sound quality was terrific too by the way. Everything in the mix was clear and sounded 'tasty', as they say. One thing I have to say is that every tune he played sounded the same. They all sounded like some kind of blues-rock jam with some quiet jazzy parts. At that point, he's not really playing songs, he's just playing an outline of a song just for the purpose of extended solos. Nothing wrong with that because I love solos, but this isn't really a band that plays 'songs'. Every time I go to these concerts I feel like I'm learning something on the guitar, and as a musician in general. Came for the fun with friends. Left with some great blues-rock guitar sounds in my head.

POA and the Buzz Wizards live at the Baked Potato

  

     Last night I was at the Baked Potato again. The first time I went was ok but this second show was great! The first band that played was a band called POA-Planet of the Abts, which consists of the rythmn section of Matt Abts, Jorgen Carlsson, and Swedish guitarist and lead singer T-Bone Andersson. Matt (drums) and Jorgen (bass) are both from the famous jam band that Warren Hayes plays in, Gov't Mule. What did I think of this band? They were incredible. They blended jazz, rock, blues, and psychedelia all into one slamming power trio. I was sitting right in front of them. The music was so loud-Andersson played a black stratocaster through a giant Marshall stack, it was deafening. Andersson's sound and style is a mix of many other famous players, you can tell who's influenced him right away. The easy thing to say is that he sounds like Jimi Hendrix. But there were shades of the blues (people like BB King, Albert King, etc) in his playing, David Gilmour (they even played two Pink Floyd songs), and even some old school Black Sabbath Toni Iommi type stuff in there as well. Let's put it this way; while he may not be the greatest technician or shredder, he makes up for in terms of pure feel, raw emotion, and great screaming guitar tone that blows your head off with its sheer awesomeness. His guitar playing made my whole night, it was that impressive and amazing. Jorgen's bass playing is very lead bass kind of playing, while Matt's drumming sounds like a laid back John Bonham, complete with all the great fills. They played a bunch of great songs, but what particularly stood out to me was the song they opened with-a rock version of what sounded to me like Afro Blue, a jazz standard. It was incredible, especially Andersson's guitar playing. What stood out was his double stop licks he was using the Afro Blue melody line, and his screaming solo. He would hold a note, give it all the vibrato he had, and just hold it forever. Very simple but very effective. I learned a lot from Andersson's guitar playing-you don't have to show off or be all that great really if you just have a great feel. His playing is all about feel, although he does have his moment in the sun for technical guitar licks. But he isn't as technical as say me or the other guitarist that played after him.
     In addition, another song that stood out to me was when they played Frank Zappa's Dirty Love. That song is just so catchy, rockin', and is perfect for a blues-rock power trio to play. I enjoyed Andersson's vocals on this one especially. He has a pretty good voice. So that was the first band. A Swede that sounds like Hendrix, rather than playing metal like Ywngie and the guys from Opeth, my favorite Swedish band.
     The next band was Toshi Yanagi on guitar (from the Jimmy Kimmel show), Jorgen from Gov't Mule on bass, and Toss Panos on drums. This was their first show together as the Buzz Wizards, a cool name for an instrumental jazz fusion band. Toshi is a much better technician than Andersson is, but he doesn't have the same stage presence or feel. What I can say that was amazing was that the first song Toshi played sounded like something Jeff Beck would play, it was a great, rocking, jazz kind of thing that wouldn't sound out of place in the early or mid 1980's. Although Toshi is a lot older than me, I can tell that he is hip on the scene because he has tons of shred licks that young people would use-licks that sound like Guthrie Govan and Eric Johnson. He had this really cool Strat-like guitar with a Floyd-rose on it that sounded and looked super cool. Also, when it was his time to play, that was when all the Japanese people arrived. By this time (around 11-11 30pm) most of the people from the first set had left. His other songs are kind of songs that sound dated today. He even said some of the songs he was going to play were written back in 1992. You need to write more modern songs dude! Haha, but seriously he had this other really cool tune called 'Assassin', that was pretty far out. Also, it was pretty cool seeing the drummer, Toss, play jazz-rock beats using traditional grip. I've tried it myself on drums and it is not the easiest style to use when playing those more rock type beats-and he can go straight up rock at times, pushing the beat super fast and going for super fast fills. Toshi is a great guitarist but I want to see more out of him as a guitar player, I felt like he was holding back at times, not utilizing some of his best licks and ideas. Sometimes a song would go into a great groove that would have a perfect spot for more intensive solos from the bass, guitar, or drums, and instead they would just end the tune, and I'm just sitting there like "come on dude, you had the perfect set up!". All in all though this was the best show I've been to at the Baked Potato, the best jazz club here in the valley. I even had a cheese baked potato, a coke with margarita salt on the rim, and coffee. On top of the great music and eats, the guy at the door let me stay for the second set without paying-talk about cool. I'm going to start taking off Mondays from work to go to the jam sessions they have there. Planning on bringing my Hagstrom Super Swede Les Paul and show them my stuff. I'm especially excited about jamming there because on Monday Night Jams they have the guitarist Jaime Kime, a great guitarist that played with Dweezil Zappa in Zappa Plays Zappa. I really dig his guitar style. Anyways, it was a great show, check the place out if you can, its relatively cheap for shows, food, and drink. Cheers.

John Mclaughlin, To the One

     This is one of the better jazz-rock fusion albums in my collection. And its on the more recent side coming out in 2011. I ordered this CD online a while ago, months and months ago. This is also McLaughlin's first recording with his band the 4th Dimension. Here's what it says on the CD cover: 
     "The inspiration behind this recording stems from two sources: firstly from hearing the recording 'A Love Supreme' by John Coltrane in the 1960's, and secondly from my own endeavors towards 'The One' throughout the past 40 years. Coltrane's recording marked me forever in two ways: musically and spiritually. This was a profound moment for modern music. Until this recording, 'spirituality' had been the domain of the great classical composers with their works known as the 'mass', and in the classical music from North and South India. With this one recording, Coltrane integrated the spiritual dimension into jazz. The advent of this record could not have come at a better moment for me. The musical and spiritual encouragement I obtained from this record was a determining factor in my life. By the release of this album, I had begun my search for the answers to the questions existence will pose to us all, sooner or later. This period of intense interior work was followed by periods of indolence, doubt and even plain laziness on my part. Fortunately, the call of my soul returned to my inner ear, and I began eventually to feel the blessings of the Infinite One once more. From time to time, I have had glimpses of the indescribable loveliness of the Infinite One. I have seen that we are all in the Infinite One. We can never be apart from the Infinite Oneness even though we may be unaware of this unity. The music on this recording is another tale from my life. About my love and affection for the wonderful people around me, both far and near, for the mysterious universe we live in, and in the end for the Infinite One. With peace and blessings to everyone. J.M"
     How can you even come up with a better message to your fans than this! Really inspiring words from the great spiritual guitarist. Its really quite great how McLaughlin loves Coltrane because I too, am a huge Coltrane fan. Coltrane was my hero too man! Anyways, McLaughlin has been searching musically and spiritually and it really shows on this record. So this is the first recording with McLaughlin's band the 4th Dimension and they are John McLaughlin on guitar, Gary Husband on keyboards/drums (sometimes on drums, sometimes keys, sometimes both on the same track!), Etienne M'Bappe on bass, and Mark Mondesir on drums when Husband isn't playing it. This is only the second time I've heard the album, but the first time I heard it I was absolutely blown away by the musical prowess and instrumental intensity. I was especially in love with the track 'Discovery'.
      The first track is my favorite and in my opinion the best track on the whole album. It's called 'Discovery', and it starts out with a swinging kind of funky keyboards and drums. And there's a head played by the guitar before John McLaughlin goes off into improvisatory sequences. The thing that I think makes this song so great is the rhythm section, the drums, bass, and keyboards are just so funky but it also has that kind of sophisticated sound of bebop jazz because of McLaughlin's guitar solo. The licks are just killing it man! He's a monster! And then Gary Husbands keyboard solo comes in. Then there's a bridge section where the drums kind of have their own little crazy part. Then the bass comes in for a solo and its fantastic. This guy, M'Bappe plays fretless bass, and fretless bass sounds amazing. I wish bassists in metal would use it, it really has a good sound. Then the head comes back in, ending the song on a high note while the drums goes off on rhythmic tangents. To me, this song is like a modern bebop, its jazz-rock but it has the sophistication of complicated jazz arrangements, like old school Dizzy and Charlie Parker.
     Next, is a more ballad type song called 'Special Beings', a very new age title for a song but the song name actually fits the song musically. The guitar tone in this one has more of a chorus effect than 'Discovery'. The tone is a little more like how Mclaughlin likes his guitar now, which is more of a chorus type thing similar to John Scofield. There's great keyboard playing from Gary Husband here. It actually reminds me of Herbie Hancock, his playing is very harmonically 'there', in the same way as Herbie's playing is. Even though the mood is more mellow on this piece, Mclaughlin still 'shreds', as the kids call it. This guy was like the OG shredder back in the 70's in Mahavishnu Orchestra and its amazing that he plays faster today at 70 years old than he did in his 20s. The thing that makes Mclaughlin's playing so great is his phrasing. He does interesting things with ordinary melodies, probably learned much of it from studying Indian classical music and playing with musicians from India. This guy isn't just a pentatonic runner. The bass line even plays a walking bass line on this song, making it have that kind of signature jazz feel.
     Next up, 'The Fine Line', sounds like a song that is super heavy and deep. It has this kind of melody that just screams emergency! But it still has a funky flavor to it with the rhythm section. This is another favorite track of mine on the album. Definitely one of the best tunes on the album for sure. There's a keyboard solo and then that haunting melody comes back in, it's really a blast to hear. The drums even have a solo part while McLaughlin is riffing on the theme's chords. After that McLaughlin plays some really killer guitar lines. Super fast. Super technical. Super jazzy. His guitar tone on this song is drenched with reverb, a slight bit of distortion, and chorus for sure. Some of his best tones. He sounds like a rock guitarist playing bebop jazz lines super fast. It's amazing. Also, I wanted to mention that this tune sounds very modern. By that, I mean that this song could have been written by guys in their 20's or 30's. It just sounds like they're young and hungry as a band. This band has continued today with the same kind of energy.
     'Lost and Found' sounds almost like a Pat Metheny song. It starts off with so much synthesizer running through, that all I can think about is Pat Metheny's first album with all the synth stuff by Lyle Mays. I believe McLaughlin is even using a guitar effect that makes his guitar sound like a synthesizer. I've heard the jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel use a similar device to get this kind of tone on his guitar as well. I think its called a H.O.G. 2 or something like that, it basically makes your guitar sound like not a guitar, but something else entirely by giving you a bunch of options and tone settings. This song is kind of like an interlude in the album. It's short and sweet compared to the other tracks.
     The next track, 'Recovery' could be the younger brother of 'Discovery'. The drumming and rhythmic pulse is pretty much the same but the melody and guitar lines are different. This definitely shows off their more funk influences, especially Husband's funky keyboard jabs. There's even a nice kind of Moog synthesizer sounding solo. Although harmonically there's a million things going on in this song I would say the main important part is the rhythmic aspect. I really feel it and once you hear it you can too. It's a pulse that is so funky, I could almost dance. The guitar solo on this track is killer. With these kinds of solos by McLaughlin you never get tired of the acrobatics, the speed, and the sheer technical aspects of his guitar lines. Everything you hear sounds great. He seems to have endless ideas and variations, the mark of a true great improviser. He isn't Peter Brotzmann but he sure has created his own guitar style and musical style that nobody else comes even close to.
    Lastly, the final track is called 'To the One'. I would say again that this sounds similar to a Pat Metheny type thing where a synthesizer, in this case, a guitar synth is controlling the melody and the atmosphere of the song is kind of mellow, despite being at a fairly quick tempo, with fast drumming especially on the snare and cymbals. There's even some vocals at the end of this track, giving it that new age jazz vibe.
     Finally, this album reached number 27 on the Billboard Jazz Albums Chart and was nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. It has gotten great reviews online by many famous websites and publications. The tunes have memorable melodies and lines that keep the tunes flowing well with the improvisation. It isn't avant-garde but the music does have complicated arrangements and extensive improvisation. I would say of this era of John McLaughlin's guitar playing: that "This sounds like midi bebop jazz-rock". All the tunes seem to have a form to them and it works great with this band, they really sound like a good cohesive unit, rather than just a pick-up band. It's amazing that John McLaughlin still sounds amazing today, as good, if not better than he was when he was in his 20's and doing Mahavishnu Orchestra. Gary Husband surprised me playing keyboards because his usual gig is playing drums with guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Upon hearing this album again, I still think its a great album, one of John McLaughlin's best I've ever heard.