Month: July 2013

Ritenour’s previous album, 6 String Theory, featured collaborations with guitar peers John Scofield, B.B. King, Slash, and George Benson, among others. Here, he’s working with virtuoso rhythm section players – and a few newcomers.

Bassists on these 12 numbers include Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Chuck Berghofer, Nathan East, and Tal Wilkenfeld. On keyboards: George Duke, Ariel Mann, Debon Johnson, Patrice Rushen, Chick Corea, Alan Pasqua, Dave Grusin, and Larry Goldings. The drummers are equally prestigious: Will Kennedy, Peter Erskine, Sonny Emory, Dave Weckl, Oscar Seton, and Willie Colaiuta.
The material runs the gamut, the performances nuanced to compliment this diverse lineup. One standout is a restrained, atmospheric treatment of Nick Drake’s moody “River Man” with a vocal by jazz singer Kurt Elling, the band (including Grusin and East) creating a complementary mood. Ritenour plays classical on Chick Corea’s airy “Children’s Song # 1,” easily interacting with the song’s composer. Grusin’s 1989 “Punta Del Soul” showcases the five rhythm section winners of Ritenour’s 2012 International 6-String Theory Competition.

“Fat Albert Rotunda” lacks the horn sections of Herbie Hancock’s 1969 original, yet Ritenour more than compensates. Assisted by Rushen’s and Johnson’s keyboards and the basses of Miller and Melvin Lee Davis, they update the feel while retaining the original’s funk groove. On “Maybe Tomorrow,” he adds stinging embellishments in and around South African vocalist Zamajobe. His lines are likewise strong on “Spam-Boo-Limbo.”

The Ritenour originals vary in tone, from the medium-tempo “July” and “800 Streets by Feet’s” glimmering textures to “The Village’s” swirling textures.

Ritenour’s intent here was to showcase the great rhythm players of the moment, spanning generations, and those sure to make their mark in the future. Rhythm Sessions, thoroughly musical throughout, manages to do that admirably.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

In the coming years, Universal will reissue 66 of Frank Zappa’s albums, kicking off a with a 10-CD flight covering the years 1966 through ’72. Take your pick of great Zappa releases, but a top choice has to be the ’69 classic, Hot Rats.

This was Frank’s first post-Mothers of Invention release and even 40 years later, it’s a stunner. Most of the album is instrumental, allowing Zappa to focus on his legendary arrangements and plenty of hot guitar solos. It was also one of the earliest albums recorded on a 16-track machine, allowing the composer plenty of room to experiment.

The opener is “Peaches In Regalia,” today recognized as one of the finest fusion instrumentals ever recorded. True to its name, it has a regal melody and powerful horn arrangement, complemented with “octave bass” work and wicked, envelope-treated guitar licks from Zappa.
Next is “Willie The Pimp,” where Frank gets his Jimi on and treats listeners to some perfectly sick, fuzz and wah improvs in an extended-jam format.

Other goodies include “Son Of Mr. Green Genes,” another instrumental with a memorable melody and fiery FZ break. “It Must Be A Game” is a sly sizzler that mixes rock, bop, and classical ideas with free abandon and plenty of cool guitar work.

If you like Frank’s more popular albums from the ’70s, Hot Rats is a good liftoff point to explore the guitarist/composer’s early catalog. File it under “Essential Zappa.”

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Jerrod Niemann is a successful songwriter whose tunes have been recorded by Garth Brooks, Jamey Johnson, and Blake Shelton. His 2010 Arista debut Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury yielded a #1 single with “Lover, Lover” that earned Platinum status. The album’s understated, irreverent, and quirky approach totally rejected Nashville’s usual sound-alike assembly line production style.

Free the Music aims Niemann’s iconoclasm another direction. Taking a long-range view of country past and present, the Kansas native slices and dices sounds from different eras in ways that don’t exactly echo Brooks, Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, or Merle Haggard.

Don’t look for the usual Music Row studio aces in the credits. Niemann largely relied on his own band, including three horns and avoiding steel guitar. The dense arrangements aren’t solo heavy, though Tim Teague handles some guitar work and album coproducer Dave Brainard plays guitar, bass, and other instruments.

The opening title song offers music unconventional, yet oddly faithful to the past. The Dixieland overtones of “Honky Tonk Fever” and “It Won’t Matter Anymore” don’t seem so odd when you realize Jimmie Rodgers, Bob Wills, and even Haggard all invoked the style at various times. “Only God Could Love You More” is as strong – and individualistic – a country love ballad as any around today.

“Real Women Drink Beer” slyly spoofs two grossly overused themes in current tunes, complete with a chickenpickin’ guitar break enhancing another freewheeling arrangement. “Fraction Of A Man” offers a neo-Haggard approach with bits of Jordanaires-style backing vocals and New Orleans horns. Niemann’s past successes prove beyond question he’s no experimental artist. He may not be a mainstream icon. Still, in Nashville’s often rigid climate, anything as uninhibited as Free the Music is a revelation.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Black Sabbath and Deep Purple had a de facto merger in 1983 on the Sab album, Born Again, a disc featuring Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward with Purp frontman Ian Gillan. Over the decades it’s become a cult fave, and this new charity album celebrates the pairing.

To mark the event, Iommi and Gillan reunited for two new tracks plus adding a slew of tracks from their various other projects, including the current Deep Purple with Steve Morse on guitar, Iommi’s work with ex-Purp bassist Glenn Hughes, and various side projects. There’s even a version of the new Purple with the late Ronnie James Dio singing “Smoke On The Water” – almost worth the price of admission alone.

The album kicks off with “Out Of My Mind,” a recent Iommi/Gillan collaboration that is a classic metal stomper and gets you in the proper frame of mind, particularly after Tony’s bluesy, slowburn solo. Next is “Zero The Hero,” a solid track from Born Again, though at the time, Sabbath was lost in the metal revival triggered by hot ’80s bands from Iron Maiden to Judas Priest to AC/DC.

“Trashed” is a fast cruncher from the 2006 Gillan’s Inn, again featuring a muscular Iommi lead. The second disc kicks off with the duo’s other recent partnership on “Holy Water,” a metal anthem propelled by the late Jon Lord’s Hammond organ and a soaring guitar solo.

WhoCares isn’t essential metal, but if you enjoy the big metal family of Black Sabbath and Deep Purple and their various interminglings, you’ll enjoy it. Plus, it’s for a good cause, as proceeds from its sales go to rebuilding a music school in Armenia.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.

Florida native Easton Corbin earned justified acclaim for his 2009 debut album Roll With It, revealing his twangy traditional voice and obvious debts to George Jones, Merle Haggard, and the late Keith Whitley. Carson Chamberlain’s spare, economical production accentuated those assets. All Over the Road retains the sound, with Brent Mason and James Mitchell handling electric guitar work and the ubiquitous Paul Franklin on pedal steel. All account for great instrumental moments, the tight ensemble work on the title song but one example.

The problem lies with the songs. Corbin’s execution is consistent, yet too many numbers, including the title song and “Lovin’ You Is Fun,” are the sort of bland, watery, hook-heavy tunes aimed at pleasing country radio first and listeners second. “Tulsa, Texas,” which flips city and state names, is catchy but free of any genuine wit. Corbin’s debut proved him capable of handling more than fluff.

A few rise above the rest. Unlike so many current Nashville beach songs, “Hearts Drawn In The Sand,” enhanced by Mason and Mitchell, avoids rehashing tired, shopworn Parrothead clichés. Unlike many current Nashville producers who use pedal steel mainly as a twangy background effect, Chamberlain, Whitley’s former bandleader/steel guitarist, keeps Franklin prominent throughout.

Guitars drive both “This Feels A Lot Like Love” and “That’s Gonna Leave A Memory.” Despite its lightweight lyrics, “A Thing For You” features some sharp guitar-steel-fiddle ensemble playing. Corbin’s strongest emotional moments come on “I Think Of You.” He delivers a powerful reading of this ballad, its lyrics applicable to anyone missing a lover, sibling, friend, or relative.

All Over The Road reiterates Corbin’s vocal strengths and Chamberlain’s production is first-rate. That said, such talent deserves better, more consistent material.

This article originally appeared in VG‘s Jan. ’13 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.