**** Compact Jazz by George Benson – Great Jazz Guitar for the Jazz Enthusiast

Never mind what pop music fans like. This album is great in every way. It just takes a jazz enthusiast to appreciate an album like this one, maybe even someone so specialized as a jazz guitar enthusiast. Okay, so usually I reserve the five out of five possible star ratings for stuff that has appeal for anyone, and sorry, for the 15% that would say sausages grow on trees if polled, these are the kind of folk that will never appreciate the mastery of a virtuoso jazz musician. In fact, I imagine that this album wouldn’t have much appeal even for an average person, but let’s get one thing straight. I am not an average person. I like the arts, and the arts is usually not the stuff pop stars crank out, as far as I am concerned, that stuff is all crud. I will say this though, for the average guitar jazz enthusiast, the music on this album is timeless. Though this album may be forgotten, somehow I don’t think it will, as it is one of the earlier works of the jazz recording industry. Likewise, George Benson is one the first ever jazz guitarist to be recorded. Thus, it is such that because the Rolling Stones and the Beatles where among the first in their trade, so as well it will be with the recordings of early jazz virtuosos like George Benson.

***** Hotel Spendido by Al Di Meola – A Masterpiece: Buy This Album, It Is Not A Waste of Money

From start to finish this album is nothing but classic song after classic song. The mainstream really missed out on this album. Just as Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson made a short stint of radio airplay, I believe that this album could offer something to anyone in the way those two were a part of music even to a lowly pop music fan. Asides from that, as pop music is usually the worst kind of music, Al Di Meola could appeal to anyone, from the fan of Miles Davis to the fan of Metallica, or even a fan of Eric Clapton. In fact, Al Di Meola often borders on heavy metal shred, at the same time while never losing his jazz roots.

When I rate this album 5 stars, it is that I want to say that Hotel Splendido is one of the best albums ever! Really, Hotel Splendido is impossible to beat value as an album. It is one of my cherished classics, something that I could never really grow tired of. I use my 5/5 star rating very sparingly, and the reason for it is so that I can share with someone, anyone, that there is something magical about this album. There is something about this album that I could pull it out 50 years, 100 years, or even 1,000 years from now and sing the same songs of praise about the greatness of Hotel Splendido.

**** Live from Oz by Planet X – Calling All Planet X Junkies for a Poor Man’s Greatest Hits Package

There is some excellent improvisation on Live from Oz, but I was hoping for more.  The album is very good, except for the fact that it’s sound quality is slightly less than what we would expect from a studio album.  I don’t know how that could be changed.

I love that Virgil Donati’s drums are not triggered.

Planet X was created as a band that was created to “Strike fear into the hearts of musicians.”  I have to say that I think that they failed on that one, at least on the Live from Oz disc.  Derek Sherinian has a tremendously over inflated opinion of himself if he thinks Planet X is the best progressive rock act going.  While I would say this act is one of the better acts in music, the technicality of it is often reached by other artists, especially those who are also at the top of their discipline.  Also, I do believe that both Tony MacAlpine’s and Virgil Donati’s parts were better than Derek Sherinian’s.

One important issue I want to address here is whether or not someone should feel that he or she has a complete Planet X discography if he or she does not have Live from Oz.  At that one, I would say, if you don’t have this one, there is no reason to rush out to the store to get it.  Also, chances are the store might not have it, and additionally you may have to look pretty hard to find this one.  IMHO, in most instances, the studio versions are better than those on Live from Oz.  Live from Oz is for the Planet X junkie, and I won’t say that I wish I hadn’t bought it.  I happen to be a planet X junkie.  The price to buy the cd when I got it was well worth the price of admission for Live from Oz.

Lastly, Live from Oz can definitely serve as a type of poor man’s greatest hits for Planet X. 

**** Light Years by Chick Corea’s Elektric Band – Quirky, Unusual, Good Music That Never Caught On

My guess is that you have probably never heard of this band, unless you are specifically looking for it, and that much I guess is unlikely.  So, to describe this band I will list some bands that you may have heard of that remind me of the material on this work; those would be Liquid Trio Experiment, Bill Frisell, and John Scofield.  If you can dig stuff from those artists, I highly recommend this album.  One thing I will say is that you are most certainly not guaranteed to like this album from Chick and crew if you like his band Return to Forever.

I originally had this one in my player for probably a year, and then took it out in order to move some stuff in to replace it.  At that point I could only recognize the songs, but by now; having listened to this album in the mix for a few years, I definitely give it a thumbs up.  Every track is worth many, many listens.

I guess though is that this music is music for musicians, and pretty much musicians only will buy this album, and most us are poor, so I can’t imagine this album sold many copies.  Chances are you will only be able to find this album on your computer, but not at a record store.  These days even record stores sometimes won’t carry something this rare.  That is a shame, because this is really good music.

Another way I might describe this as 1980s jazz.  The musicianship is great, but the electronics aren’t quite that great, and after albums like this one flopped, I can definitely understand the move to return to more of an analogue sound, such as a Hammond B3 organ.  So, the hard part of this album to sell is that it is electric, and uses cheesy synthesizers from start to finish.  I do believe that was Chick’s aim; to explore new technology and to marry it with jazz.  I believe that Chick did an excellent job of that on this album.  The music on this album is great and timeless for those that love music, but someone who is interested in sound quality may turn his or her nose up at this one.

My wife who is more laid back than I is sitting here relaxing to the music while crocheting, as I type away.  There are a few cds in the 100 disc player that I couldn’t do that with.  My wife is also a musician, and thus she is already probably more keen on listening to good music, especially a work like this which is so easy to relax to.  It is good to feel connected with her musically, such that I have been thankful for such great music that appeals to both genders, as we all know music like metal often attracts 10 males for every 1 female.