REVIEW: Tom Quayle – Soloing over Dominant 7th Chords lesson package
March 7, 2012
Tension and release.
One of music’s fundamental concepts that really bonds our emotional ties to it is that fact music flows from sounds of tension to some sort of resolution or release. Most, if not all, genres have an element of this ebb and flow but typically you hear it more commonly in the likes of Blues, Jazz and Fusion.
One of the key chords or harmony that is used to create this sense of tension is the V chord or Dominant chord
In Tom Quayle’s latest lesson package, Tom provides a fantastic detailed insight into the various Dominant 7th chord tensions that commonly arise in Jazz/Fusion contexts, looking at ways to tackle typical functioning, resolving, Dominants such at typical Mixolydian 7ths, Diminished, Altered sounds, Phrygian Dominant etc. as well as the non-functioning dominant sound of Lydian Dominant.
A brilliantly presented 26 page PDF booklet is provided which goes into great depth about the theory behind Dominant 7ths, giving example chord progressions and voicings with example licks and real world song examples.
The booklet concludes with tablature of 20 example lines for you to use in your own playing immediately and, if that wasn’t enough, Tom has recorded 19 minute video lesson in glorious HD video showing you how to play each line at full speed then slowed down for you to digest them fully. There are also 15 (yes, 15!) high quality backing tracks for you to try out the lines as well as your own ideas.
Tom’s lesson packages are of the highest quality and his latest is no exception. Fusion playing is a hot style of playing at the moment so if you are anyway aspiring to include ‘those’ jazzy sounds into your playing be sure to check it out!
‘Soloing Over Dominant 7th Chords‘ is available now from Tom Quayle’s website for $25.00
Here’s a couple of licks that Tom kindly shared to whet your appetite:
REVIEW: Greg Davies ‘Wanna Play?’
February 7, 2012
Greg Davies is an upcoming UK guitarist who I became aware of at Monkeyfest 2011, performing a great live set with his band the Greg Davies Project, sharing the bill with the likes of Guthrie Govan, Andy James, Alex Hutchings etc.
Greg’s latest CD ‘Wanna Play?‘, completed in May 2011, is entirely self produced. Taking 18 months of dedicated writing and recording, Greg recorded all 15 tracks at home on his 4 track.
The album begins with the track Hazed, a rockin’ opener that rekindles a sound of a bygone era of instrumental guitar with early Satch vibes. That isn’t to say Greg is a clone, far from it, the catchy melodies here have a unique stamp that is Greg’s own.
As Greg states:
I guess my biggest goal with this album was to reach more than just guitar heads… Write catchyish choruses and simple melodies. Plus I’m no Guthrie so really technical pieces aren’t my bag! Also I have come to realise that it is important to play my way… I was raised on rock music so I shall play it because I love it!!!
The fantastically titled ‘Sludge Mouth‘ lays down a deep nasty riff supporting some of these melodies that Greg mentions, as does the heartfelt and laid-back ‘Missing You‘.
Greg fuses various genre defining sounds on the album, for example the album’s title track, Wanna Play?!, begins with a cool sequenced synth part that continues throughout adding textured layers to this fast showstopping shuffle piece. Fuzzy Duck get its groove on with a great funky riff and My Happy Valley alludes to a classic 80s rock ballad vibe.
An album highlight for me has to be Greg’s cover of the iconic ‘Beat It‘ by Michael Jackson, a song I recall from his live performance at Monkeyfest. The main melody line and riffs are all here as well as a rip roaring guitar solo!
‘Wanna Play?’ will be available on Amazon and iTunes soon until then you can purchase a CD by visiting Greg’s Myspace page or Facebook page and contacting him direct. You can also follow Greg on twitter.
Songs from the album and videos can also be checked out at the Greg Davies Project Reverbnation page.
Album Tracklisting
1. Hazed
2. Bulletproof
3. Sludge Mouth
4. Missing You
5. Our Day
6. Wanna Play?!
7. Snowsong
8. My Happy Valley
9. Jimi Mix
10. Good Times
11. Beat It
12. My Sunday Sofa
13. What’s The Problem?
14. Fuzzy Duck
15. Dreaming
For Fans Of: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John 5
Standout tracks: Beat It, Fuzzy Duck
UK Release Date: Available NOW
REVIEW: Jonas Tamas ‘Timeless Hour’ with guests Brett Garsed, Mattias Eklundh, Andy James and many more!
December 18, 2011
Hungarian guitar maestro Jonas Tamas has just released his second album Timeless Hour through Steve Vai’s Favoured Nations label.
A culmination of two years work Timeless Hour follows on from Jonas’ successful debut album Sharp Guitars From A Flat Planet and features guest appearances from some of the world’s top players, including the likes of Brett Garsed, Andy James, Mattias Eklundh and the legendary Troy Stetina.
The album’s opening track Rule Of Thumb, quickly sets the scene and vibe for the album with its progtastic sequenced arpeggiated keyboard intro theme, heavy riffs and melodic guitar.
The pace and sonic palette is varied though with the fantastically exotic sounding The Unbreakable, the lovely laid back piano intro and uplifting harmony guitar parts of Chance and acoustic piece Space Walk.
There is obviously some outstanding guitar technical playing on display here which helps build the intensity and excitement of the music but Jonas has a great melodic sense and touch in his playing too, as can be heard on an another album favourite of mine, Farewell, which as an added bonus also features a sublime guest solo from the mighty Brett Garsed!
In fact the quality of guests Jonas has invited to play on this album speaks volumes. Their contributions fit and compliment each song very well. Especially the combination of the phenomenal Andy James and keyboardist Sergey Boykov on Borderline.
Not only did Jonas mix and produce the album but, excluding the guest solos, the entire album, guitars, keyboards, bass and drums were all played and programmed by Jonas, which is an impressive feat in itself! My only personal gripe is with the sound of the programmed drums, which for me sit a little too far back in the mix. A little big bigger and splashier and the album would sound even more epic.
An eclectic mix of stunning modern guitar work that fuses elements of Rock, Fusion, Prog and Metal Timeless Hour will appeal to lovers of intense modern instrumental guitar music.
Check out Jonas’ Facebook page for audio previews and much more.
The album is available now worldwide from CD Baby and iTunes.
Album Tracklisting
1. Rules Of Thumb (featuring Marcel Coenen)
2. Debate (featuring Mattias IA Eklundh)
3. All Night Pass
4. The Unbreakable (featuring Mischa Mang, Troy Stetina and Thorsten Koehne)
5. Chance
6. Platinum
7. Farewell (featuring Brett Garsed)
8. Borderline (featuring Andy James and Mats Haugen)
9. Spacewalk
10. My Mind Is Up
For Fans Of: Dream Theater, Marco Sfogli, Andy James
Standout tracks: The Unbreakable, Farewell
UK Release Date: Available NOW
Jonas has recently been added to the impressive roster at jamtrackcentral.com, check out this video of him playing Zenith from his first album Sharp Guitars From A Flat Planet:
REVIEW: Tom Quayle ‘Adding chromaticism to your lines’ lesson package
November 21, 2011
UK Fusion maestro, Tom Quayle, has released another video lesson package looking at adding Chromaticism to your playing.
The package features a detailed 16 page booklet, an HD video lesson going through 10 great licks in detail with close ups of both right and left hands, audio of each of those licks as well as five great jam tracks.
The majority of the juicy lesson material of this lesson package is in the PDF booklet which goes through various approaches Tom uses to add a chromatic flavour to his playing. Each approach is explained in a clear and useful manner with example scale diagrams and licks to reinforce your learning.
At the end of the booklet Tom provides tablature for 10 awesome licks with a detailed analysis of each lick outlining the theoretical concepts involved, giving some great real world examples of the concepts discussed previously.
If that wasn’t enough each of the 10 licks is demonstrated in the accompanying video lesson. In the video Tom goes through each lick at full speed, so you can hear the exact phrasing, then at a slower speed with close up shots.
For each lick’s unique harmonic context Tom has also provided five great chord vamp backings for you to try out these licks for yourself or even just to jam over trying out the chromatic concepts covered in the lesson.
Tom has again come up with a great quality lesson package that will appeal to players looking of that extra chromatic fusion and jazzy ‘spice’ to their playing.
The package is available from Tom’s website priced $25, so check it out now!
REVIEW: Leslie West ‘Unusual Suspects’ (feat. Steve Lukather, Billy Gibbons, Slash, Zakk Wylde and Joe Bonamassa)
September 19, 2011
Leslie West, legendary guitarist of Mountain, has just released a new solo album entitled Unusual Suspects
The album features contributions from a hand picked line-up all, of which are guitar legends in their own right, including Steve Lukather, Billy Gibbons, Slash, Zakk Wylde and Joe Bonamassa.
The album itself is a mix of originals and covers of blues-rock and ballad songs which showcases West’s earthy vocals and characteristic playing.
The album opens up with One More Drink For The Road a great boogie track that rolls along and features some customary great guitar work from Steve Lukather.
The following track Mud Flap Momma keeps the great hard rocking vibe going with a very cool slide guitar riff based track that features Slash on guest guitar duties. Definitely a fave on the album for me.
Another album favourite is the cover of the blues classic Third Degree which rocks things up a little with West’s gritty vocals and great complimentary guitar work and vocals from Joe Bonamassa.
The song Standing On A Higher Ground was brought into the studio by Billy Gibbons, a long time friend of West’s, who met on ZZ Top’s first major tour when the Top got a big break opening for Mountain. The song was initially incomplete but working with West and producer Fabrizio Grossi they finalised the song and recorded it live together in the same Los Angeles studio.
I’m in total agreement with Leslie West who says “Only Billy Gibbons can come up with am intro that sounds like Hendrix and ZZ Top joined at the hip”. There’s no mistaking the great Billy Gibbons!
Zakk Wylde joins West on the rocking Nothing’s Changed, another album highlight. Zakk Wylde, like Slash, cites West as an influence, even affectionately referring to West as ‘Dad’, so it’s great to hear Zakk’s trademark style come through on this track. It sounds like they had great fun trading licks.
Unusual Suspects should appeal to fans of classic boogie-rock and is an enjoyable listen which shows again how great the marriage of rocking guitars and blues can be!
As West says “As a player, my motto is all about knowing how much to play without playing too much”.
Unusual Suspects is available now Provogue Records.
Album Tracklisting
1. One More Drink for the Road (Featuring: Steve Lukather)
2. Mud Flap Momma (Featuring: Slash)
3. To the Moon
4. Standing on Higher Ground (Featuring: Billy Gibbons)
5. Third Degree (Featuring: Joe Bonamassa)
6. Legend
7. Nothing’s Changed (Featuring: Zakk Wylde)
8. I Feel Fine
9. Love You Forever
10. My Gravity
11. The Party’s Over (Featuring: Slash and Zakk Wylde)
12. I Don’t Know “The Beetlejuice Song” (Featuring: Richard Christy)
For Fans Of: Mountain, ZZ Top, Walter Trout, Black Country Communion, Hard Rocking Blues
Standout tracks: One More Drink For The Road, Mud Flap Momma, Third Degree and Nothing’s Changed
UK Release Date: Monday 19th September.
REVIEW: Derek Sherinian ‘Oceana’
September 6, 2011
I’ve been a fan of Derek Sherinian‘s playing for a while now, first being aware of him via Dream Theater then through Planet X and currently with Black Country Communion.
In his new solo album ‘Oceana‘, Sherinian has again teamed up with some outstanding musicians, featuring contributions from Joe Bonamassa, Tony MacAlpine, Simon Phillips, Steve Lukather, Steve Stevens, Doug Aldrich, Jimmy Johnson and Tony Franklin.
The album kicks off with the song Five Elements a modern Prog Fusion rollercoaster with the unmistakable talents of Tony McAlpine on guitar who also features on the following track Mercury 7.
The legendary Steve Lukather returns to collaborate with Sherinian on the tracks Mulholland, Euphoria and Seven Sins. Each track a great slice of rock fusion with stunning keyboard and guitar work though Euphoria stands out as a fave of mine for its laid back feel and great main melody.
Steve Stevens makes his appearance on Ghost Runner and Oceana adding an edgier rock feel to each track with some great melodic interchanges between himself and Sherinian and a ripping solo in Oceana.
Also great to see Black Country Communion band-mate Joe Bonamassa playing on the song I Heard That which changes the pace a little, adding a bluesier tinge to precedings and grooving along nicely. Another favourite player of mine, Doug Aldrich lends his considerable talents on the El Camino Diablo which invokes a fusion era Jeff Beck vibe.
‘Oceana‘ is an album that showcases Sherinian’s energetic prog-fusion music and ability to pick the right musicians to add their own special touch to each composition and should appeal to lovers of both fusion and heavy rock.
Album Tracklisting
1. Five Elements
2. Mercury 7
3. Mulholland
4. Euphoria
5. Ghost Runner
6. El Camino Diablo
7. I Heard That
8. Seven Sins
9. Oceana
Keep an eye out for the ‘Oceana’ solo tour in early 2012!
For Fans Of: Planet X, Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, Alex Argento
Standout tracks: Five Elements, Euphoria
UK Release Date: Monday 5th September.
REVIEW: Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa ‘Don’t Explain’
August 16, 2011
I’ve been very lucky to have had a sneak preview of the upcoming album from Beth Hart and Joe Bonamassa entitled ‘Don’t Explain‘.
I’m guessing many readers will be familiar with the guitar maestro Joe Bonamassa but maybe not so much with Beth Hart.
Beth Hart is a Los Angeles based singer-songwriter who is good friends with Joe and is renowned for having a raw and powerful blues-rock voice. Whilst in London in early 2010 Joe was at one of Beth’s shows and was immediately blown away, in fact he thought “It was killer,” and suggested they should do a project together sometime.
To get an idea of what Joe witnessed, here’s Beth Hart in a more rockin mode with Slash:
“I was up late one night, I couldn’t sleep. I was playing songs on my iPod from the reissue of Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out, which included all the opening acts from that Stones show,” he recalls. “As soon as the Ike & Tina Turner tracks came on, I just said out loud, ‘Beth Hart.’
I emailed Kevin, saying, ‘Let’s do a soul covers record with Beth,’ and he replied back, ‘Actually, that’s a great idea.’”
The Kevin mentioned is Kevin Shirley who has produced Joe’s last five albums and has also produced “Don’t explain“.
The album itself is a collection of classic soul and blues covers:
Album Tracklisting
1. Sinner’s Prayer (Ray Charles w/ B.B. King)
2. Chocolate Jesus (Tom Waits)
3. Your Heart Is As Black As Night (Melody Gardot)
4. For My Friend (Bill Withers)
5. Don’t Explain (Billie Holiday)
6. I’d Rather Go Blind (Etta James)
7. Something’s Got A Hold On Me (Etta James)
8. I’ll Take Care Of You (Gil Scott-Heron)
9. Well, Well (Delaney & Bonnie)
10. Ain’t No Way (Aretha Franklin)
The album kicks off with the classic “Sinner’s Prayer” by Ray Charles and BB King, opening with Joe playing the main riff on slide guitar but when Beth Hart’s sultry blues vocals kicks in you know you are in for a treat!
Somehow I had never heard of Beth Hart before this, I don’t know why because her voice is truly sublime. Like a blend of Janis Joplin and Etta James, her voice ranges from jazzy soulful tones to full on raw anguished screams. You can really connect with the lyrics when a voice is this good.
Her voice perfectly suits the fantastic cover of Tom Wait’s “Chocolate Jesus” (an album highlight for me) and is out of this world on “I’d Rather Go Blind“. This classic is a favourite song of mine anyway, but the version on “Don’t Explain” is pretty special. Between Beth’s otherwordly vocals and Joe’s extended heartfelt guitar solo, it’s 8 mins of musical bliss.
I imagine many Joe Bonamassa fans will snap this album up, as usual his playing is fantastic, but this isn’t just a ‘guitarist’s’ album. Beth Hart’s exceptional vocal performances make this accessible to any music fans who love classic soul and blues.
It’s just sublime, so much so I’ve had it on constant repeat 
.
For Fans Of: Great Soul and Blues, BB King, Janis Joplin, Etta James, Aretha Franklin
Standout tracks: Chocolate Jesus, I’d Rather Go Blind, Somethings Got A hold On Me
UK Release Date: Monday 26th September.
As another little taster, you can download the track “Well, Well” for free!
