Albums I’ve Been Enjoying Recently

Jose DeCastro – Conversation

I was introduced to Jose DeCastro‘s ( aka Jopi ) by a student who had bought one of his earlier albums ‘Un Poco De Lo Mio‘ ( also a great album ) off eBay. On first listen I was instantly hooked.

‘Conversation’ was released in 2006 and from the brilliant opening track ‘For You’ grooves, rocks and funks out the speakers at ya. There are hints of Andy Timmons in there tone wise ( an influence I’m betting ) , and plenty of spanky, funky fast triplet strumming as well as very cool soloing. But for me the main attraction is the groove of the songs. Check out the audio clips or even youtube footage of the man playing ‘For You’


Marco Sfogli – There’s Hope

Before watching youtube videos such as this jam over a bluesjamtracks backing and a snippet of a song from this very album, Marco Sfogli to me was ‘that guy who played on James LaBrie’s album’. When I first heard James LaBrie’s album I initially thought it was John Petrucci playing such was the man’s feel and evident uber chops.

On hearing that a solo CD was in the works I was keen to buy it the second it was released. ‘There’s Hope’ was released on Feb 15th but wasn’t until Monday that I was able to purchase a download copy from Lion Music ( all hail Lion Music for offering digital downloads! ). The album is brilliantly produced and as expected features some fantastic music and playing. The sound of keyboards and Sfogli’s tone do hint at ‘Dream Theaterey/Petrucci’ vibes but that’s a good thing in my book . But this is no Petrucci clone, there are hints of fusion in there, the token country song, delicate touches on ballads, awesome sequenced arpeggio lines and melodic and catchy, dare I say it, songs! *gasp*

Check out the album samples or buybuybuy here. There is also a very cool track by track analysis by Mr. Sfogli on the album info page.