Eric Mantel – The Unstruck Melody
I’ve got to tell you that on first listen you are struck by what an amazing guitarist Eric Mantel is. There is no doubt that he is master of many genres. Listening to him play is a pure pleasure. If you want to hear a tutorial of how to play everything from subtle to shred, and play them well, go buy this CD. I enjoyed every minute of listening to him play.
But what is the beauty for the guitarist is the beast for me as a CD listener. You just never know where you are about to go. The first track is a harbinger of things to come. You hear somebody scanning up the radio dial hitting different stations with different styles. But is it a concept album? Well, no, it’s the anti-concept album concept album. Don’t get me wrong, the tracks are all done well but they don’t really link together. I think it’s disconcerting to go from Pop to Rock to Blues to Jazz to whatever and back again. I can’t get into a listening groove. Maybe I’m just old but I liked listening to how an album flowed. Now if you are an Ipod random shuffle type of listener this shouldn’t bug you at all. All the songs are great. But what do you know, you young whippersnapper?
Anyway don’t read too much into my love for the lost art of concept albums, it’s a great CD by a great guitarist.
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