News:
17-03-2008:
While essential guitar is off line, I've republished my reviews for essentialguitarist.com
Joop Wolters - Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents
Reviewed by Laurie Monk
Joop Wolters is a Lion Music recording artist and he is also known for his guitar work with the rock band Arabesque . Joop signed with Lion Music back in 2002 and this is his second solo release for them, following on from his "Workshop" album.
"Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents" is a big album comprising seventeen tracks, which Joop describes as a musical journey. Fortunately for the listener, "Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents" is not seventeen, samey sounding songs, rather a potent, positively progressive platter.
Joop is a massive fan of the playing of Alex Lifeson and other players from fusion and Jazz rock spectrum like Larry Carlton, Steve Morse and Allan Holdsworth. You get a chance to hear all these influences throughout the album, particularly noticeable in the choices for the guitar voicing for his chord and solo work. Whether it is the
glissando "Lifesonesque" chordal backings, Steve Morse solo-isms of "Canned Heart" or bar-bending "Holdsworthian" legato shapes you won't fail to be impressed.
"Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents" is an original work and I would describe it as an album that grows on you. Like many progressive albums, the listener is rewarded for their patience, as repeated listening reveals musical layers of greater depth, subtlety and sophistication. The songs are also well constructed, reflecting their
titles, having a cinematic or thematic quality.
The CD features two great keyboard players in Alex Argento and Vivien Lalu. Joop also features reciprocally on Lalu's recently released "Oniric Metal". I particularly like Alex Argentos keyboard solo on "Disturbance" and suggests that he is a player to look out for in the future. The guitar work for this track is crunching, with speed driven solos, but also neatly blended with choppy suspended chord work and a super speed slippery melodic fade out.
Lalu features on the main stand out cut "Beggin' For A Trip To The Stars". This mammoth track weighs in at eight minutes plus. It also features chameleonic style changing, from crunchy chord work and soaring guitar solos to layered keysounds and "Secrets" era chord work. Lalu builds a creative keyboard solo, which is blown away by Joops' towering lead work. The mid section, if there is one, contains false endings, flavoursome acoustic Spanish guitar work, Al De Meola style chord work and Holdsworthian legato fusion solos! Not to be out done it ends with a Yngwie style mad wah wah driven shred fest over crunchy chords. Nirvana for any prog guitar fan!
Tracks like "Cruising For The Soul" and "Resolute" are more straight ahead rock fusion tracks. Both feature some very nice key playing and which highlights Joops own distinctive flowing style. He gets a chance to express himself with some clean soloing with a more jazz feel and fluid phrasing. These are definitely not just good time, guitar rock or pompous neo-classical opuses and these tracks show that Joop is able to mix it with the best of them.
"Acoustimas" is an opportunity for Joop to show that he's also a pretty good acoustic player. Quite often, guitarists who assemble these sorts of tracks miss their mark and only go to show that you should leave it to the flamenco experts. However, this is not the case with Joop, as he captures the essence and sensibilities of a stylish flamenco song over a Spanish sounding melody.
Like Dave Martone, Joop has raised the bar with production quality as the sound is excellent throughout, with great use of guitar and synthesiser voicing. Not surprisingly, there are three drummers on the album and this was used to good effect to enable the appropriate drum styling for fusion orientated tracks and tracks with a more straight ahead rock style.
Even with all this great playing there is a weakness. There are too many musical ideas on the album and Joop may have been better leaving some tracks off, using the time saved to hone the melodic flow of the main tracks. That said, I have no hesitation in recommending this album to fans of great guitar playing or for those looking for something more original than derivative.
17-03-2008:
While essential guitar is off line, I've republished my reviews for essentialguitarist.com
Joop Wolters - Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents
Reviewed by Laurie Monk
Joop Wolters is a Lion Music recording artist and he is also known for his guitar work with the rock band Arabesque . Joop signed with Lion Music back in 2002 and this is his second solo release for them, following on from his "Workshop" album.
"Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents" is a big album comprising seventeen tracks, which Joop describes as a musical journey. Fortunately for the listener, "Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents" is not seventeen, samey sounding songs, rather a potent, positively progressive platter.
Joop is a massive fan of the playing of Alex Lifeson and other players from fusion and Jazz rock spectrum like Larry Carlton, Steve Morse and Allan Holdsworth. You get a chance to hear all these influences throughout the album, particularly noticeable in the choices for the guitar voicing for his chord and solo work. Whether it is the
glissando "Lifesonesque" chordal backings, Steve Morse solo-isms of "Canned Heart" or bar-bending "Holdsworthian" legato shapes you won't fail to be impressed.
"Speed, Traffic and Guitar Accidents" is an original work and I would describe it as an album that grows on you. Like many progressive albums, the listener is rewarded for their patience, as repeated listening reveals musical layers of greater depth, subtlety and sophistication. The songs are also well constructed, reflecting their
titles, having a cinematic or thematic quality.
The CD features two great keyboard players in Alex Argento and Vivien Lalu. Joop also features reciprocally on Lalu's recently released "Oniric Metal". I particularly like Alex Argentos keyboard solo on "Disturbance" and suggests that he is a player to look out for in the future. The guitar work for this track is crunching, with speed driven solos, but also neatly blended with choppy suspended chord work and a super speed slippery melodic fade out.
Lalu features on the main stand out cut "Beggin' For A Trip To The Stars". This mammoth track weighs in at eight minutes plus. It also features chameleonic style changing, from crunchy chord work and soaring guitar solos to layered keysounds and "Secrets" era chord work. Lalu builds a creative keyboard solo, which is blown away by Joops' towering lead work. The mid section, if there is one, contains false endings, flavoursome acoustic Spanish guitar work, Al De Meola style chord work and Holdsworthian legato fusion solos! Not to be out done it ends with a Yngwie style mad wah wah driven shred fest over crunchy chords. Nirvana for any prog guitar fan!
Tracks like "Cruising For The Soul" and "Resolute" are more straight ahead rock fusion tracks. Both feature some very nice key playing and which highlights Joops own distinctive flowing style. He gets a chance to express himself with some clean soloing with a more jazz feel and fluid phrasing. These are definitely not just good time, guitar rock or pompous neo-classical opuses and these tracks show that Joop is able to mix it with the best of them.
"Acoustimas" is an opportunity for Joop to show that he's also a pretty good acoustic player. Quite often, guitarists who assemble these sorts of tracks miss their mark and only go to show that you should leave it to the flamenco experts. However, this is not the case with Joop, as he captures the essence and sensibilities of a stylish flamenco song over a Spanish sounding melody.
Like Dave Martone, Joop has raised the bar with production quality as the sound is excellent throughout, with great use of guitar and synthesiser voicing. Not surprisingly, there are three drummers on the album and this was used to good effect to enable the appropriate drum styling for fusion orientated tracks and tracks with a more straight ahead rock style.
Even with all this great playing there is a weakness. There are too many musical ideas on the album and Joop may have been better leaving some tracks off, using the time saved to hone the melodic flow of the main tracks. That said, I have no hesitation in recommending this album to fans of great guitar playing or for those looking for something more original than derivative.
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