Craig Hamilton’s Favored Eclectic Mix of Guitar Heavy Albums in Time for Holiday Shopping

Kings of Damnation Era by Black Label Society           20^th Century Masters by B.B. King

Prime Cuts by Shadow Gallery                                     Alive in America by Steely Dan

Full House by Wes Mongomery                                    Live at Yoshi’s by Pat Martino

Tribute by Ozzy Osbourne                                Birds of Fire by the Mahavishnu Orchestra

The Perfect Element by Pain of Salvation                       the Best of Santan by Santana

Coda by Led Zeppelin                                                   Parallax by Greg Howe

School Days by Stanley Clarke                                   Maximum Security by Tony MacAlpine

Greatest Hits of the 20^th Century by Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

Now by Lenny Breau                                                      It Is What It Is by Mike Stern

Departure by Gary Burton & Friends                              Another Lifetime by Simon Philips

Self-titled by Niacin                                                   Then Best of Chick Corea (Blue Note)

…And Justice for All by Metallica                                   Ride the Lightning by Metallica

Fear of the Dark by Iron Maiden                                  7^th Son of a 7^th Son by Iron Maiden

Secrets by Allan Holdsworth                                          Metal Fatigue by Allan Holdsworth

Virtuoso 2 by Joe Pass                                                   Virtuoso 3 by Joe3 Pass

Fire Garden by Steve Vai                                                Sex and Religion by Steve Vai

The Abbey Road EP by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Uplift MOFO Party Plan by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rust in Peace by Megadeth                                        United Abominations by Megadeth

Into the Electric Castle by Ayreon                                    The Human Equation by Ayreon

III Sides to Every Story by Extreme                                 II Pornograffitti by Extreme

Outbreak by Dennis Chambers                                        Uncle Moe’s Space Ranch

Poets and Madmen by Savatage                                      Handful of Rain by Savatage

Works for Me by John Scofield                                      Up All Night by John Scofield

The Divine Wings of Tragedy by Symphony X                 The Odyssey by Symphony X

Twilight in Olympus by Symphony X

Ten by Pearl Jam                                                              Yield by Pearl Jam

No Code by Pearl Jam

Bill Frisell, Dave Holland, Elvin Jones                                Blues Dream by Bill Frisell

Live by Bill Frisell

Greatest Hits by Queensryche                                            Empire by Queensryche

Here in the Now Frontier by Queensryche

Stardust We Are by the Flower Kings                                Retropolis by the Flower Kings

Back In the World of Adventures by the Flower Kings

Space Revolver by the Flower Kings                           The Rainmaker by the Flower Kings

In Absentia by Porcupine Tree                                     Lightbulb Sun by Porcupine Tree

Deadwing by Porcupine Tree                                    Grace for Drowning by Steven Wilson

Islands by King Crimson                                       Lark’s Tongues In Aspic by King Crimson

Red by King Crimson                                             The Power to Believe by King Crimson

In the Wake of Poseidon by King Crimson

In the Court of the Crimson King by King Crimson

Secret Story by Pat Metheny                                               99 00 by the Pat Metheny Trio

Speaking of Now by the Pat Metheny Group         Imaginary Day by the Pat Metheny Group

I Can See Your House from Here by John Scofield & Pat Metheny

Question and Answer by Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes

Like Minds by Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland

What If by the Dixie Dregs                                         Dregs of Earth by the Dixie Dregs

Industry Standard by the Dixie Dregs                              Full Circle by the Dixie Dregs

Free Fall by the Dixie Dregs                                       Unsung Heroes by the Dixie Dregs

Coast to Coast by Steve Morse                                   High Tension Wires by Steve Morse

The Raven That Refused to Sing by Steven Wilson

Black Clouds and Silver Linings by Dream Theater         Train of Thought by Dream Theater

A Dramatic Turn of Events by Dream Theater                  Dream Theater by Dream Theater

Metropolis PT.2: Scenes from a Memory                    Falling into Infinity by Dream Theater

Octavarium by Dream Theater                                                Awake by Dream Theater

4 Degrees of Radio Edits by Dream Theater                  Systematic Chaos by Dream Theater

When Dream and Day Unite by Dream Theater               Notes on a Dream by Jordan Rudess
Score disc 1 by Dream Theater                                 Suspended Animation by John Petrucci 

100 Disc Changer - A Better Mix

This is early, but I felt it was necessary to have a mix of cds that I like better. Usually, I only update this twice a year, but I made some major changes, and thought I would share.

List of Artists:

Flower Kings, Dream Theater, Steven Wilson, Led Zeppelin, Dixie Dregs, Metallica, Megadeth, Queensryche, Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, John Scofield, Joe Pass, Iron Maiden, Iced Earth, Ozzy Osbourne, Extreme, Ayreon, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Symphony X, Pearl Jam, Steve Vai, John Coltrane, Black Label Society, Tool, Bela Fleck, Wes Montgomery, The Who, Herbie Hancock, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Soulive, King Crimson, Stanely Clarke, Niacin, Testament, Shadow Gallery, Radiohead, Pat Martino, B.B. King, King’s X, Bill Frisell, Deep Purple, Savatage, Tony MacAlpine, Allan Holdsworth

List of cds:

Allan Holdsworth - Secrets

Tony MacAlpine – Maximum Security

Savatage – Edge of Thorns

Deep Purple – Machine Head

Bill Frisell – Live

King’s X – Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

B.B. King – 20th Century Masters

Pat Martino – Live at Yoshi’s

Radiohead – OK computer

Shadow Gallery – Prime Cuts

Testament – The Ritual

Niacin – self-titled

Stanley Clarke – School Days

King Crimson – The Power to Believe

Soulive – Doin’ Something

The Mahvishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire

Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles

The Who – Who’s Better Who’s Best: This Is the Very Best of the Who

Wes Montgomery – Full House

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – Greatest Hits of the 20th Century

Tool – Aenima

Black Label Society – Kings of Damnation Era

John Coltrane – Impressions

Steve Vai – Sex and Religion

Pearl Jam – Ten

Pearl Jam - Yield

Symphony X – The Odyssey

Symphony X – Twilight In Olympus

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Abby Road EP

Ayreon – The Human Equation

Ayreon – Into the Electric Castle

Extreme – II Pornograffitti

Extreme – III Sides to Every Story

Ozzy Osbourne – Tribute

Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon

Iced Earth – Days of Purgatory

Iced Earth – The Blessed and the Damned

Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark

Iron Maiden – 7th Son of a 7th Son

Joe Pass – Virtuoso No. 3

Joe Pass – Virtuoso No. 2

John Scofield – Works for Me

The John Scofield Band – Up All Night

John Scofield & Pat Metheny – I Can See Your House from Here

Gary Burton - Departure

Gary Burton, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes – Like Minds

Pat Metheny – Speaking of Now

Pat Metheny – Secret Story

Pat Metheny Trio – 99 00

Pat Metheny, Dave Holland, Roy Haynes – Question and Answer

The Pat Metheny Group – Imaginary Day

Queensryche – Greatest Hits

Queensryche – Here in the Now Frontier

Queensryche – Empire

Megadeth – Youthanasia

Megadeth – So Far so Good

Megadeth – Killing Is My Business

Megadeth – United Abominations

Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction

Megadeth – Rust in Peace

Metallica – Ride the Lightning

Metallica - …And Justice for All

Metallica – black album

Metallica – Kill ‘Em All

Steve Morse – Coast to Coast

Steve Morse – High Tension Wires

Dixie Dregs – Full Circle

Dixie Dregs – What If

Dixie Dregs – Industry Standard

Dixie Dregs – Free Fall

Dixie Dregs – Unsung Heroes

Dixie Dregs – Dreg’s of Earth

Led Zeppelin – Coda

Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door

Steven Wilson – Grace for Drowning disc 1&2

Porcupine Tree – In Absentia

Porcupine Tree – Deadwing

Porcupine Tree – Lightbulb Sun

Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet

Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused to Sing

Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events

Dream Theater – Black Clouds & Silver Lining

Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos

Dream Theater – Awake

Dream Theater – 4 Degrees of Radio Edits

Dream Theater – Octavarium

Dream Theater – Falling Into Infinity

Dream Theater – Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory

Dream Theater – Self-Titled

Jordan Rudess – Notes on a Dream

Dream Theater – Score disc 1

James LaBrie – Winter Rose

Dream Theater – Train of Thought

Dream Theater – When Dream and Day Unite

Flower Kings – Back in the World of Adventures

Flower Kings – Stardust We Are

Flower Kings –The Rainmaker

Flower Kings – Space Revolver

Mostly Sophisticated Summer Music Mix 2014

This is a list of the cds I have in my 100 disc changer.  It is not a top 100 list, but it is all good music that I recommend.  Usually, I have posted this list every 6 months or so, such that normally this would have been posted in the beginning of June.  However, I haven’t been able to listen to cds much lately because on humid days, which are frequent, the amplifier’s “Protect” function shuts down the amplifier, supposedly to prevent damage.

Porcupine Tree – Deadwing (discs 1 and 2)

Porcupine Tree – In Absentia (discs 1 and 2)

Porcupine Tree – Lightbulb Sun

Porcupine Tree – Fear of a Blank Planet

Porcupine Tree – Coma Divine

Steven Wilson – The Raven That Refused to Sing

Steven Wilson – Grace for Drowning (disc 1 and 2)

Flower Kings – Space Revolver

Flower Kings – Stardust We Are (disc 1 and 2)

Flower Kings – Retropolis

Flower Kings – Back in the World of Adventures

Flower Kings – The Rainmaker

Dream Theater – Dream Theater

Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn of Events

Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos

Dream Theater – Score (disc 1)

Dream Theater – Master of Puppets

Jordan Rudess – Notes on a Dream

An Evening With Jordan Rudess and John Petrucci

James LaBrie’s Mullmuzzler – Keep It to Yourself

Led Zeppelin – In Through the Out Door

Mix cd of Tony MacAlpine and Led Zeppelin

Wes Montgomery – Full House

Wes Montgomery – Fusion

Fates Warning – Chasing Time

Ozzy Osbourne – Tribute

Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon

Alice In Chains – Dirt

The Mighty Mighty BossTones – Devil’s Night Out

Megadeth – Youthanasia

Megadeth – United Abominations

Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction

Ayreon – The Human Equation (disc 2)

Ayreon – Into the Electric Castle (disc 2)

John Coltrane – First Meditations

John Coltrane – Impressions

John Coltrane – Live at Birdland

Poison – Poison’s Greatest Hits 1986 – 1996

Symphony X – Twilight in Olympus

Symphony X – The Odyssey

Stryper – Seven

Extreme – II Pornograffitti

Extreme – III Sides to Every Story

The John Scofield Band – Up All Night

John Scofield – Pick Hits Live

The Who – Who’s Better Who’s Best: This is the very best of the Who

Amazing Journey – Disc 1

Metallica – Kill ‘Em All

Metallica – Ride the Lightning

Metallica – black album

Steve Morse – Coast to Coast

Dixie Dregs – Industry Standard

Dixie Dregs – What If

Dixie Dregs – Free Fall

Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, Roy Haynes, Dave Holland – Like Minds

Pat Metheny - Secret Story

Pat Metheny Trio – 99 00

Rollins Band – End of Silence

Stanley Clarke – School Days

King Crimson – The Power to Believe

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Abbey Road EP

Red Hot Chili Peppers – The Uplift Mofo Party Plan

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Freaky Styley

Stevie Ray Vaughn and Double Trouble – Greatest Hits

Soulive – Doin’ Something

Pantera – Far Beyond Driven

Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power

Phish – A Picture of Nectar

Steve Vai – Sex & Religion

Gil Evans Play Jimi Hendrix

The Mahavishnu Orchestra – Birds of Fire

King’s X – Gretchen Goes to Nebraska

Radiohead – OK Computer

B.B. King – 20^th Century Masters

Joe Satriani – The Extremist

Bozzio, Levin, Stevens – Black Light Syndrone

Roy Hargrove – The Vibe

Herbie Hancock – Empyrean Isles

Green Day – Dookie

Niacin – Niacin

Testament – The Ritual

Transatlantic – smpte

Fear Factory – Transgression

Platypus – When Pus Comes to Shove

James LaBrie – Winter Rose

Death – Individual Thought Patterns

The Guitar Artistry of Charlie Byrd

Pearl Jam – Yield

Deep Purple – Machine Head

Joe Pass – Virtuoso 2

Gorilla Biscuits – Start Today

Queensyrche – Here in the Now Frontier

Tool – Aenima

Bill Frisell – Live

Black Label Society – Kings of Damnation Era

Savatage – The Wake of Magellan

Craig’s Picks: Dream Theater’s Studio Albums Rated as of June 2014

From Best to Least Best

Five Stars, 1.  Dream Theater by Dream Theater

Five Stars, 2.  Awake

Five Stars, 3.  Octavarium

Five Stars, 4.  Images and Words

Five Stars, 5.  A Dramatic Turn of Events

Five Stars, 6.  Systematic Chaos

Five Stars, 7.  Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory

Five Stars, 8.  Train of Thought

Five Stars, 9.  Falling Into Infinity

Five Stars, 10.  When Dream and Day Unite

Four Stars, 11.  Black Clouds & Silver Linings

Four Stars, 12.  Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence (I recommend the totally awesome 4 Degrees of Radio Edits, or Score instead)

***** Dream Theater by Dream Theater: The Best Album in the World to Date.

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.

*** 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.

***** 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.