This is the best album I have ever heard, hands down, everything else is secondary, and probably everything after Dream Theater by Dream Theater will be secondary. This is it. This is perfect. This is the new standard. This is better than any jazz I know of. This is better than any classical music that I know of, including greats like Beethoven and Dvorak. This album is eternal. I can rest now in my search for great music because this one will probably hold my attention for years and years.
I have been a music lover since I was a child. I can still remember listening to Vivaldi on my Walkman at my now deceased grandmother’s house, which means my love of music goes back to the time when cassette tapes ruled the market and cds had not yet been invented. I am now in my thirties, and I have been a fan of Dream Theater since I heard Pull Me Under on the Z Rock 50 on 94.1 WHJY, which was a hard rock top 50 countdown that prided itself by saying Casey Casum (or however you spell his last name – the guy who did the pop music countdown, which never seemed to give metal a chance) doesn’t have a clue.
Well, now that I have heard Dream Theater by Dream Theater, I can die, and know that there is probably never going to be another album that is as good as this one, especially when it comes to complexity. I’m a cerebral guy, and I don’t believe that it can get better than this. This stuff blows away Aphex Twin, a computer musician programmer who actually tried to program good music. Because I am a guitarist, programmed music will never touch me the way people do who are actually playing real instruments, even if effects are used.
Reviewing this album, I am so happy to hear my son say one of the songs on this one is his favorite. My boy already has good tastes, and without coaxing. He knows what he likes, and Dream Theater is a part of that already. He likes the song that sounds like Limelight by Rush, but is 10 times as good as it.
I completely enjoy the seriousness of this album, as compared to A Dramatic Turn of Events. Don’t get me wrong, both albums are 5 star albums, but A Dramatic Turn of Events was super dorky with all its silly messiah talk.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
*** The Blue Note Years: The Best of Kenny Burrell - A Major Disappointment
Considering that Kenny Burrell is one of the best known jazz guitarists, this greatest hits package is unimpressive. The funny thing is that I kept giving this one more chances because I thought that perhaps I was mistaken and that I would grow to love this disc. Loving The Best of Kenny Burrell was something that never happened. All I did was get more familiar with these songs. This sounds like jazz guitar in a box because it sounds as if there is no passion put into any of the notes. Even my son who is but 5yrs old now and already an avid fan of jazz always complains when this one comes on in my 100 disc changer mix.
I know Kenny Burrell is capable of putting out good albums. Recently, I reviewed Burrell’s album Midnight Blue, and I thought rather highly of it. It is hard to imagine how a single album could be so much better than a greatest hits package. Perhaps, the person selecting the songs was a numbnut. I don’t know. At this point in time I only own these two Kenny Burrell discs. However, one thing is for sure, I am not venturing out into Burrell’s catalogue any further because when the greatest hits aren’t that great, it doesn’t indicate that there is much depth to the rest of this musician’s catalogue. I could be completely wrong about that, but usually greatest hits albums are at least like a litmus test. I admit that this comes as a surprise, as I have heard musician’s rave about Kenny Burrell, and he is usually listed among the greatest jazz guitarists in the world.
Despite all my lambasting of this work, I am not as harsh as my son. I like most of the songs on it a little bit, but not enough for me to give this stale piece of jazz a rave review. This style of guitar has come to be standard for the industry. For example, if I were still playing jazz guitar, my attack toward playing the songs would probably be nearly identical, and for me that is a weakness, but that is not to Kenny Burrell’s credit either.
I know Kenny Burrell is capable of putting out good albums. Recently, I reviewed Burrell’s album Midnight Blue, and I thought rather highly of it. It is hard to imagine how a single album could be so much better than a greatest hits package. Perhaps, the person selecting the songs was a numbnut. I don’t know. At this point in time I only own these two Kenny Burrell discs. However, one thing is for sure, I am not venturing out into Burrell’s catalogue any further because when the greatest hits aren’t that great, it doesn’t indicate that there is much depth to the rest of this musician’s catalogue. I could be completely wrong about that, but usually greatest hits albums are at least like a litmus test. I admit that this comes as a surprise, as I have heard musician’s rave about Kenny Burrell, and he is usually listed among the greatest jazz guitarists in the world.
Despite all my lambasting of this work, I am not as harsh as my son. I like most of the songs on it a little bit, but not enough for me to give this stale piece of jazz a rave review. This style of guitar has come to be standard for the industry. For example, if I were still playing jazz guitar, my attack toward playing the songs would probably be nearly identical, and for me that is a weakness, but that is not to Kenny Burrell’s credit either.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
***** Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell – The Only Legitimate Criticism of It Is That It Lacks Aggression
Firstly, I would like to say that all of the songs on Midnight Blue are great, and that that is the reason this one is a 5 star album. Though don’t mistake this one for the shred style albums, I am likely to give 5 stars, because Midnight Blue is a mellow album, in the vein of Kind of Blue by Miles Davis. Midnight Blue is better than Kind of Blue, but that may only be because I prefer guitar to trumpet. I am a guitarist, and if you ask me, Kenny Burrell on Midnight Blue is the real deal. Clearly, aggression wasn’t Burrell’s goal, but so often I go for the aggressive album, as compared to the blue album. That is, when it comes to Kind of Blue by Miles Davis, Blue Trane by John Coltrane, Midnight Blue by Kenny Burrell, and so many other jazz artists that had a blue album, frankly, this isn’t my favorite style of music. I can appreciate it, and that is where the 5 stars come in, but in the long run, this really isn’t my favorite style.
One thing that is striking about Midnight Blue is how well the guitar functions as a chording instrument. These aren’t boring chords. The chording on this album is quite skilled.
I like jazz, and that is probably one reason that I am a fan of Kenny Burrell. If you get into jazz guitar, then Kenny Burrell is a staple, but he is slowly being forgotten. There are better artists out there today that are less heard of than Burrell. Really, nothing separates Kenny Burrell from the local jazz act in many places. Such an act may have a name guitarist, but because he or she did not come along until this generation, he or she is lost in the shuffle. However, this is where the problem starts for giving him a 5th star. That is, because Kenny Burrell is really only known well among cloistered groups at universities where people go to study music in order to get a degree in it, and he is then only remembered among those knowledgeable in jazz, increasingly Kenny Burrell’s popularity has been waning. If you ask me, while this is a great album, it will eventually lose its status as a standard. I think it can be outdone because for the most part I prefer shred to music like King of Blue, or Midnight Blue. As for now though, I think this album is still a 5 star standard.
One thing that is striking about Midnight Blue is how well the guitar functions as a chording instrument. These aren’t boring chords. The chording on this album is quite skilled.
I like jazz, and that is probably one reason that I am a fan of Kenny Burrell. If you get into jazz guitar, then Kenny Burrell is a staple, but he is slowly being forgotten. There are better artists out there today that are less heard of than Burrell. Really, nothing separates Kenny Burrell from the local jazz act in many places. Such an act may have a name guitarist, but because he or she did not come along until this generation, he or she is lost in the shuffle. However, this is where the problem starts for giving him a 5th star. That is, because Kenny Burrell is really only known well among cloistered groups at universities where people go to study music in order to get a degree in it, and he is then only remembered among those knowledgeable in jazz, increasingly Kenny Burrell’s popularity has been waning. If you ask me, while this is a great album, it will eventually lose its status as a standard. I think it can be outdone because for the most part I prefer shred to music like King of Blue, or Midnight Blue. As for now though, I think this album is still a 5 star standard.
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