Gayle needs no introduction to prog fans as his prolific career has spanned well over 40 years with the consistently illustrious Djam Karet, keeping both the quality and the diversity in perfect equilibrium. His recent 2022 solo album with the Electromags called “Shiny Side Up” was a jubilant piece of progressive boogie (oh no, not another sub-genre label!) that had me and my speakers silently smiling with unabashed delight. Gayle can strum, pick, scratch, twirl, and swirl with the very best guitarists out there and can play keyboards with equal aplomb. For this album, he enlisted 22 guests, hence the Friends title, with many names extremely well know within and beyond the Prog world. When I saw the likes of Frederic L’Epee (Shylock, Philharmonie etc..), Thierry Payssan (Minimum Vital), Marc Ceccotti (Edhels), two members of Japanese band Baraka, the lads from Aisles from Chile and many more, I started to salivate like a ravening hound. What really hit the mark reading the credits was the decision by Gayle to leave the spotlight heavily on his guests, a generous gesture that can only be viewed with immense respect, mutual and otherwise. “Let the others have some fun, I will just keep things tight in the background”. He was thinking the bigger picture.
Just press start on the first track “Viewer Discretion Advised” and you will be grinning too! Channeling once again the organ fueled frenzy of classic Booker T and the Mgs, courtesy of guest ivory man Ted Price, Gayle lets it rip in the Melting Pot/Green Onions tradition of high powered dusty plumed speed boogie. Mark Cook literally serves up a saucy bass rumble on which the boys can go down the road of sonic adventure. Drummer Craig Kahn keeps the rhythmic pulse close-fitting, nice, and compact. Three words= fun, fun, fun.
American axe man Brian Chapman gets to star on the next rather stunning piece “The Many Moods of Morgan” but not before Gayle goes on a spirited Minimoog solo to warm up the engine, while Cook and Kahn set the foundation up with the deliberate steadiness we expect. Chapman is a rock guitarist who rips with bluesy enthusiasm, in a sort of Gary Moore vein circa Collosseum II with acrobatic solos galore, while Ellett introduces some divine Rhodes e-piano (my current instrument of bliss) in a contemplative mid-section that is one of celestial restraint and ultimate revelation.
“Via Valencia” features the immensely reputed Spanish guitarist Alfonso Rodenas (a 5-time Grammy winner) and an LA resident, who handles the lead guitars, the Rhodes, and the bass, while Gayle lingers in support together with Craig. A breezy, fluid affair full of gentle serenity, highlighted by a simply gorgeous melody, that shuts the eyes and lets one mind wander in paradise.
Monaco-based Marc Ceccotti is a world class fretboard master, who teams up with hitherto unknown to me guitarist Joee Corso (doing the heavier, sizzling middle solo) as the Minimoogs, Hammonds and synths also combine to devastate the arrangement as much as possible. With a title like “Its All-San Andreas’ Fault”, you kind of expect some tremor-inducing sounds, and they are delivered in tectonic terms to say the least.
The vibrant “Transpacific Highway” does look out towards far away Japan, with axeman Issei Takami throttling his instrument with undisguised lust, while countryman Shin Ichikawa, both from Baraka, lays down the four-string beast. The fusionist approach is obvious though the rock part is quite fiery and determined. Highway driving music par excellence this, one as the guitars remind of the roaring engine and the synths suggests the wind blowing the drivers hair.
Speaking of which, “Splitting Hairs” features Dudly Taft, a fretboard craftsman in a more bluesy tradition, who is undaunted in urging his plaintive tool into various paroxysms of scorching emotion. This is especially evident in the mid-section transition solo section, where absolutely no quarter is given melodically, as the organ, mellotron and synths are acting like barber shop chair on which the razor can ply its trade. The slippery leads sear the ears, as the marshaled beat forges relentless on, a deliriously fabulous track that at times reminded me of the classic Robin Trower album Bridge of Sighs. The endless mellotron vs guitar duel is a genuine gift for any progfan.
Featuring Thierry Payssan on chatty synth, “Maximum Connection” also brings on board two 6 string gun slingers in Bill Polits and Achilles Magana trading licks, in an enjoyably playful setting that careens back and forth between the three soloists, while the Electromags do all the foundational decorum to keep the toes tapping, the hands clapping and the smiles expanding.
The next three tracks opt for a more experimental trajectory, such as on the dusty tumbleweed feel of “Three Parsecs from Tuscon” where the dual guitars suggest a more vaporous mood and “Maria’s Lakeside Drive” featuring Barry Cleveland whose weapons of choice are bowed and bow hammered electric guitars in a country meets funk envelope that is quite the brow raiser. When the overdrive kicks in, there is slight ZZ Top feel to it that is enjoyable, Gayle’s acoustic guitar run is challenged by an extended and rather rampaging solo. Next up, Paul Richards (California Guitar Trio) stars on the swerving cosmic boogie of “Guitar City”, where Gayle’s ivories get to stretch out some riveting notes before another long interstellar psychedelic solo reveals the guest’s talents on electric guitar for a change.
In terms of heavier chops, “Sons of Sebastien” delivers a tornado of glittering sparkles from Lucio Caligari (Electric Swan) and German Vergara (Aisles), another axe duel that also involves some wicked synth from Juan Pablo (also from Aisles), a real musical menage a trois!
“Bueno Sanga” is the shortest track here, a swooning piece that engages Argentinian guitarist Alvarez Ortega Bianchi and American Jim Crawford (the latter doing a nice job on slide guitars.
Finally, we get to my favorite track the whopping closer “1960 Ocean Front Walk “, a smooth ride with Frederic L’Epee, a longtime favourite since the glorious days of Shylock, a rather underestimated band that made brilliant music that would have made the masters (Fripp, Gilmour, Latimer, Hillage and Howe) blush with envy. Mark’s rolling bass and Gayle Fender Rhodes a bluesy highlight in an otherwise spectacular guitar performance from the Frenchman, all controlled restraint and oozing emotion. Closed my eyes, dim the lights, and let the guitar take me faraway.
Another brilliant chapter from Gayle’ shiny new upside project, an instrumental travelogue around the world that features the type of music musicians can really groove to but also satisfying the general prog public’s eternal quest for incredibly natural sounding talent.
5 Pals, Amigos and Amis
