Reb Beach needs no introduction, having been a founder member of Winger, collaborating with the likes of Alice Cooper, Dokken and Night Ranger, and alongside David Coverdale he has been the only constant member of Whitesnake since the band reformed in 2003. He did release a solo album back in in 2001, ‘Masquerade’, but whereas that one contained vocals, what we have here is a full-on cvb shred attack. This has taken me back to a time when guitar virtuosos were providing essential albums, and like many I still have a very battered and much-played copy of Steve Vai’s ‘Passion and Warfare’ album which I bought when it came out in 1990, and while I prefer it to Satriani’s ‘Surfing With The Alien’ there is no doubt that both had a massive impact on the scene.
One thing I always thought Vai does particularly well, not only on that album but on his others, is that he manages to combine technical brilliance with musicality so that while the listener may be hugely and rightfully impressed by the note density, the songs are very much something to be played because they are enjoyable in their own right. That is the case here as well, as Beach provides incredibly fluid and quick runs, yet they all make musical sense within the structure of the song, so while we find ourselves being blown away by the sheer technical brilliance of the player, it all makes sense. This is something which both Wakeman and Emerson have always been able to do, combine incredible musical proficiency into a framework which allows them to both show off their skills and give the listener a truly enjoyable listening experience. Beach has this down to a fine art, working with a limited number of musicians which has allowed him to build a band dynamic and for the others to understand what he wants to achieve and assist him in doing so.
The result is an album which is a shredder’s delight, yet whereas I have always felt that Malmsteen is too clever for his own good, nothing feels forced and it becomes a wonderful romp through a hard rock genre that has become somewhat overlooked in recent years. Maybe it is time for a resurgence or at least a rediscovery.
Rating: 9/10
