In the last couple of years, Christian labels have finally caught on to the fact that not all instrumental albums need to be extremely, well, mellow. Phil Keaggy's fine album, 220, gave an excellent demonstration of what could be done by a soloist on a major label. And guitarists such as Jeff Scheetz and Rex Carroll have done their duty in promoting a certain excellence in string bending.
Tony Palacios is a valuable addition to this collection of Christian rock's premier guitarists. While often overlooked because of his willingness to be just a part of Guardian rather than overshadowing it, Palacios here steps out of the shadows and firmly into the spotlight, with this 12-song collection of guitar solo virtuosity.
From the opening riff of "Swamp Thing," originally titled "Make Vai Cry," Palacios gives us every indication that he is a class act. His playing shows a good combination of fast technical runs and slower, flowing melodic lines. After all, without a solid melody, a song - regardless of how skillfully played - is boring. Palacios demonstrates that his songwriting skills are equally adept for this task as they are to Guardian's pop-metal stylings.
What is perhaps most interesting about this album is the way that it mixes the older material with newer material. Apparently the recording process began nine years ago and was abandoned, then rediscovered recently. While it is painfully evident which material dates from the pre-grunge era, the fact remains that good songs are good songs. "She's A Lady" and "First Born" are perhaps the best tracks from the early period, while "Upon The Face Of The Waters" and the humorous "Sheba The Wonder Dog" give indications of what Palacios has been up to more recently. Styles range from metal to art rock to blues to jazzy pop.
This is a very solid album, earning its place beside Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and such. It hasn't disappointed me in the least, except that when I heard that Palacios was releasing a solo album, I thought maybe one or two tracks might feature his singing (which wasn't bad on Guardian's Swing Swang Swung). Oh well. Maybe if he does this again in a few years, he'll include some vocals on a hidden track. But until then, this is more than good enough.
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #73Reviewed by Doug Van PeltThis is a bold album for Guardian's six-string slinger. It's 1998 and it's been ten years since neo-classical albums by guitar heroes like Vinnie Moore and Tony MacAlpine were standard items in the album collections of musicians and metalhead fans alike. In some ways, it's not "cool" or "in" to be noodling away with the guitar like this, but it's also fairly timeless to create and play…
