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REVIEWS ADDED 27 January, 2009
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Victor GANN: "The Devil's Been
Busy" 8
Indie 2008 When you read in a guitarist's bio that he's a G.I.T. graduate you expect quality, when he lists Satch among his main influence you expect digestibility, and when you learn that he uses almost the same equipment you do you rise your eyebrows and get very curious. This is exactly what happened to me with Victor Gann's "The Devil's Been Busy". It was quite obvious that there won't be any technical problems here, the sound quality is also very good for an independent release so the only question was the songwriting. Well, the album does not lack on that part either. The songs are easy to digest, melodies are memorable, and fretboard acrobatics do not overshadow songwriting. The Satriani influence is obvious from the first track of the album and I mean the "Extremist"-era Satch, not the high-tech space freak one of the 21st century. Actually "A.R.O." sounds a lot like a poor man's "Satch Boogie". Victor is one of the few instrumental
guitarists who believes simplicity is sometimes more entertaining than
complexity and less can be a lot more sometimes. Rightfully so. Tracks
like "Shannon and Victoria" or "Lullaby For Victoria" prove that well. My
personal favorites were still the ones with various guitar sounds and a
big bunch of memorable melodies like "Beyond the Sun" or the soulful "A
Walk with God". All in all this is a very strong independent effort, a
mature album with obvious influences but enough originality and
songwriting skills not having to rely on flashy technicalities only.
Recommended indeed. |
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