2008 © Patrik Carlsson
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Album reviews > MELODIC TRAVEL
Lion Music seems to have become the new Mecca for fairly unknown guitar talent throughout the world. Enter Swede, Patrik Carlsson. This 2nd release, Melodic Travel is an instrumental dream, featuring 16 tracks of sheer guitar brilliance that can only be compared to the likes of Steve Vai, Jeff Beck, Buckethead, and Joe Satriani.
Now, before this review I had never heard of Mr. Carlsson, but after only one listen through it was obvious the complete mastery within. A second run through just gives more clarity of Patrik Carlsson’s true depth. A true maestro like Prince, Carlsson plays ALL the instruments on this CD, and plays all of the very well, indeed. But this is through and through a showcase of his guitar abilities. A shredder of sorts? Yes, but like Mr. Vai, this is NOT even a ¼ of what makes him so deadly. His precision, taste and attention to phrasing are what set him apart. Carlsson has that Zappa/Vai humor to his phrasing that is both accurate and off the wall at the same time and all the while very entertaining and wacky. He also has a killer guitar tone that allows his very angular playing to reach out and grab you. Self produced, written, performed and arranged by Carlsson, Melodic Travel is a joyride for the listener and a text book for the fellow guitarist.
Melodic Travel is full of different vibes from song to song. Carlsson successfully marriages jazz styling’s, traditional Swedish music, full on Rock, Spanish flavored salsa beats and even folk inspired themes, all into a wonderfully cohesive and flowing mix. The underlying theme throughout Melodic Travels is just that, all things melodic. The style doesn’t matter because Carlsson pulls off each so well. The different musical environments that Carlsson makes up here are just pleasing. From funky to folk, it is just plain good! On any given track of the 16 here, you can close your eyes and imagine the landscape that Patrik Carlsson has painstakingly drawn for you. The musically sculpted interludes of seclusion on an island or watching the sunset on an ocean, the imagery is simply uncanny.
CD opener, “Settler’s Pleasure” is a Vai-ish “Bad Horsie” flavored rocker. Slow and somewhat brooding with lots of attitude! Carlsson sets the table with this perfect CD opener. Other highlights are the salsa flavored “Luxian Minor”, the sultry “Hip n’ Melodic”, and the funky “The Great A”. There are no real 2 songs alike on this CD, which really makes this such an interesting instrumental release.
This is as visual of a CD that music can get. Very melodic and moving while touching on a vast amount of different styles, Patrik Carlsson is name that you should get to know. Comparisons to guitar legends aside, Carlsson is very much his own player. He transcends styles and plays them all equally with a masters fluidity. A Mutha of a player he is!!! 16 tracks of pure musical expression and there isn’t a dud song among the bunch.
Patrik Carlsson is a guitar inspiration and I for one am glad that this CD came across my desk, albeit 6 months after it’s initial release! Carlsson is a player that NEEDS to heard!
By: Butch Jones
Score: 5/5
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The Dutch Progressive Rock Page
It would appear that Lion Music have found a never ending source of guitar maestros, as each month yet another six string genius emerges. To this ever growing list we add Swedish born Patrik Carlsson, who like many of his ilk have been playing guitar since leaving the womb, locking themselves in a room with sustenance being left at the doorway so as not to interrupt the twenty four hour a day practicing necessary to hone their skills. Now if this sounds a little cynical please forgive me, however having listened through thirty to forty such albums over the last year (and many more before that) I find myself struggling to decide on a system of rating said musicians - against each other - and against their predecessors.
Now like many such albums the cost of recording and producing a "full band" CD is beyond the financial grasp of the artist. So the whole affair becomes a solo effort. And invariably it sinks or swims at this point. Mercifully Melodic Travel isn't just a bombardment of notes accompanied by an onslaught of poorly played backing attempting to sound like a band. Yes the music has a "full band" arrangement, however here it is thoughtfully done and projects Carlsson's guitar rather than impeding it. The backing for much of Settler’s Pleasure for instance seems more about keeping time than to move the track along. And certainly with Carlsson's "big" guitar sound the album gets off to a good start. The pace remains restrained for Battfield and although keyboard layers are added, the guitar is still to forefront. Kristiina’s Song again has light and airy rhythm, although as each new track unfolds the guitar work becomes increasingly more intricate. Fortunately Patrik returns often to the catchy main theme and so keeps the interest from waning. The tempo is raised for Caribbean Uptempo and is reminiscent of Steve Morse at times.
Gate To Heaven nicely builds from the delicate piano intro, through a gently played bluesy guitar theme, letting rip and then finally resting back to its' early format. Great track! In contrast Liberty City has a great funky groove, with a nicely punctuated brassy rhythm section. Luxian Minor is light and breezy Santana like arrangement with a pleasant Latin lilt. Presumably the albums title derives from this journey through differing musical styles.
And this journey continues for another thirty or so minutes and sadly brings me to the drawback with Melodic Travel - it is way too long at just over seventy minutes. I can see that Patrik Carlsson may view this album as a unique opportunity to lay out his wares and generate as much interest as possible. However by about the forty minute mark, unless something absolutely remarkable came into my headphones I was unlikely to appreciate anything further. And in all truthfulness nothing really did, although there were some great moments and some very listenable tunes towards the latter part of the CD. So in the end I feel this might perhaps have better served Carlsson as two albums. Another reason to suggest splitting this album into two is that the "second half" of the CD was definitely much lighter and almost totally abandoned the rockier edge of the opening tracks. We see Carlsson exploring a much jazzier side along with some niffty acoustic tunes - Spanish Vaganza being a standout piece here. But it seems a little mean to penalise something that in theory offers value for money. So I won't! As it stands Melodic Travel is very listenable album which I'm sure I will return to from time to time.
Conclusion: 7 out of 10
BOB MULVEY
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Patrik Carlsson is another up-and-coming instrumental guitarist from Sweden whose sophomore release is the mixed but engaging MELODIC TRAVEL. Patrik puts his Vai, Satriani, Beck and Santana influences to work on a variety of pieces, covering styles as diverse as rock, jazz,Latin and funk in a manner that is often more relaxed and playful than on many of these kind of albums. "Settler's Pleasure" is a strange choice for an opener, more of a guitar solo idea over programmed drums, but it is a bit creative starting things off with a piece like this.
"Liberty City" goes with a happier vibe, a bouncy bass underscoring some nice jazzy lines. Patrik is at his best on tracks like "Night Vision," where the guitarist really gets into the pocket and invites the listener into the gentle groove with cool comping and well placed melodic solos. Patrik can get a bit standard on pieces like "Kristiina's Song" and "The Great A," but then comes back with more cool night jazz on the atmospheric "Hip 'N Melodic" and shows himself to have a skill for flamenco-type playing on "Spanish Vaganza."
Patrik is a good player and seems to be more at home with the relaxed jazz approach rather than the shred guitar hero thing so common these days. Points off for the drums which sound too canned to really propel the music properly, but overall MELODIC TRAVEL reveals Patrik to be a promising musician attempting to take the guitar instrumental in a different direction.
by Neal Woodall
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I hoped that all comparisons to Steve Vai would have been finished by the occasion of next Patrik's solo CD. First difference between Vai and Carlsson is the fact that a Swede played all instruments on the album. Mr. Vai has never recorded all the instruments for his solo releases. Patrik is interested in understanding music world as a whole. He doesn't choose one or two styles to play, but totally explores their musical horizons. This time, we get music that is more "muffled" and (sometimes) composed as a soundtrack. "Melodic Travel" is based on many components: folk patterns, light music, Brazilian rhythms, instrumental smooth jazz and a pinch of blues. A typical factor of Patrik's playing is sliding through the guitar neck that causes tones' distortion. I must admit that a feeling towers over a melody on that album, although it has still an important significance. Now I can't wait for Patrik's guitar concerto with an orchestra he is working on, but, at present, I can recommend "Melodic Travel" to Al Di Meola's devotees (who isn't the same like Steve Vai and doesn't play similarly like him for sure, haha).
By: Mikolaj Furmankiewicz
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Patrik Carlsson has been been labeled as being the best guitarist from Sweden since Yngwie Malmsteen. That is a tremendous amount of pressure to live up to. He has admitted that his two biggest influences are Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, and, when listening to his material, inklings of both of these legends do on occasion creep through in his playing. It’s hard, however, to come up with your own sound or distinguishable style of play when such an eclectic ensemble is put together and released as a whole, the case this time being Melodic Travel. The same thing can be said about Patrik’s previous release, Phraseology, back in 2004. Yet after a very popular and promising debut and a two-year hiatus, Patrik (for some reason) has decided to follow that up with the same type of format. Why? Perhaps Mr. Carlsson’s thinking “don’t fix what ain’t broke,” or a “go with what works” attitude made him stay close to the same format he used the first time around. There could be countless other reasons, however, almost all artists stray from their debut album and go another route when it comes time for their follow-up. Patrik should have made a more concerted effort to try to develop a style and customized sound he could stick with and further develop down the road. Patrik’s hard work and diligent study throughout his many years of practicing and playing are showcased on both of his releases. It is quite evident from his two albums that Mr. Carlsson has the talent to deliver, he just doesn’t do it here to the greatest extent possible. From Phraseology to , it is easy to summarize the genre as being Instrumental. Other than that, it’s hard to pinpoint anything else because of the selection of various genres Carlsson has chosen to represent in his latest release.
Patrick’s new release is pretty much consistent all the way through in that it’s hard to follow. In listening to Melodic Travel, there are a number of songs where his playing the piano, bass, or guitar was very noticeable, beautiful, and tasteful. The drumming, however, could have been done differently. Many of the songs presented include that awful drum machine sound to the point where the end product suffers because of it. Patrik should incorporate the drums into his songs in a different fashion in order to alleviate that artificial drum sound. There are many decent songs on Melodic Travel, but overall it just doesn’t flow smoothly like it should from someone with so much talent.
Here is what you can expect from Melodic Travel: “Settler’s Pleasure” and “Battlefield” – Both have that awful drum machine sound; one tune sounds like it’s going to get heavy, but unfortunately doesn’t; the other opens with a guitar attack like that of Satriani’s, but this so-called virtuoso can’t sustain this level for more than a few seconds; playing a few arpeggio’s up and down the fretboard just doesn’t cut it; the bass is too low; the horn arrangement was a nice touch. “Kristina’s Song” and “Caribbean Uptempo” start out slow but turn out to be good songs. “Liberty City” has a nice Bluesy/Jazzy sound. “LuxianMinor,” “Desederia,” “Naboo,” “Spanish Vaganza,” and “Silence” all are decent in their own right.
“Gate To Heaven” -– mellow at first, but don’t get fooled; this is by far the best thing Patrik has done; the piano is beautifully played, followed by guitar work that for the first time has feeling to it (Carlos would love this song); 10 stars; Vai shines through on this one; worth the entire price of the CD just for this one tune. “Archipelago Blues,” “Night Vision,” “The Great A,” and “Hip ’n Melodic” – Funky or Jazzy tunes that you can take or leave depending upon your mood; nice bass runs and some equally nice guitar work. The one song that really seems out of place is “Happy Quarter.”
At this point in his career, a little more continuity in his albums would be welcome. To learn more about Patrik, go to his Web site by clicking on the following link below:
Metal Express Rating: 8/10
By: George Fustos
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Yet another Swedish guitar player, named Patrik Carlsson is available on Lion Music. When he heard Satriani’s “Surfing the Alien” and later discovered Vai’s “Passion and Warfare” he decided that was the thing to go for…
His second album starts of with some pretty heavy and good songs. Off course some of his big influences can be found here, but still Carlsson’s style of playing is recognizable. After the first four songs the tempo goes down a lot and the songs become more like a mix between Santana and Vai, even some soft-jazz songs towards the end. Heavy Metal fans won’t appreciate this style very much, it’s just too far away from hard R’n’R. Production is fine and Patrik Carlsson is a damn good guitar player, but I only would recommend this CD if you are into listening to some great lighter guitar-music.
Rating: 72 /100
By: carnut
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The Metal Obeserver
(Also published in German, check this)
What I said a while back about Lion Music still stands. They keep releasing great instrumental records that show guitar players with a good amount of skill and taste. Patrick Carlsson is amongst these guitar players, if his playing on "Melodic Travel" is any indication.
"Melodic Travel", the sophomore album from this Swedish guitar player, was originally meant to be a Jazz/Folk album with a heavy traditional Swedish music influence, but that thinking was altered in order to tell stories with each of the tracks, and to explore different musical territories.
I would not consider this a "Shred" record, and I would assume neither would anyone else listening to it would, nor did Patrick Carlsson have that in mind when he wrote the record, I would assume. Instead, "Melodic Travel" sounds like someone traveled all across the world and absorbed the music of various countries, then went back home and poured out all the influence into the songs that he wrote, capturing the essence of the different cultures he captured and the music he heard. All of these songs is coupled with Patrick Carlsson’s Jazz guitar playing, which is just beautiful.
It’s a very diverse record. The compositional mood goes from jovial music that sounds like Las Vegas ("Liberty City") to a Waltz with an accordion intro that’s perfect for drinking in a tavern ("Happy Quarter") to…well, I guess if I can come up with some of these scenarios by simply listening to the music, "Melodic Travel" accomplished its goal, which was to create various stories using the music.
It’s hardly a shredding record, but one that is very diverse and full of different moods and gorgeous melodies. If it was me, I’d cut the record to a bit less than one hour, but as it stands, it’s a very great instrumental record that shows off more composition skill than instrumental skill, and the former is much more important.
Recommended. 8/10
By: Armen Janjanian
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For some unknown reason, it seems like Lion Music signs every so-called guitar virtuoso as soon as they hear someone with an ounce of talent. This label is becoming the new Shrapnel Records for the 21st century. Enter Swedish guitar instrumentalist Patrik Carlsson. I have never heard of him either, but he has a couple of releases under his belt and now the label seems ready to expose him to the world.
“Settler’s Pleasure” begins with only a distorted axe noodling around and dishing out some simple, but catchy riffs. Halfway through the song, the programmed drums enter the picture as well as bass and anything else to flesh out the piece. What starts off as something that sounds like was recorded in demo mode before going into the studio turns out quite nice and quick. “Battlefield” is another nice number that throws in hints of atmosphere to make it sound like you are entering a war. The solo work is a tad flashy, but never goes over the top and can even sound sincere at times despite it being an upbeat and somewhat heavy number. Of course with every instrumental disc, we have to show off our soft and gentle side and we get it with “Kristina’s Song.” Definitely not sappy, but more so filled with happiness and positive energy. A genre that I absolutely loathe, rockabilly gets amped up here with “Caribbean Uptempo.” This one is fast and never looks back. Quite a joy to these ears. The music contained within never stays in one genre too long. On tap here as well is the smooth jazz cut “Archipelago Blues.” The tempo is just right and avoids bogging the listener down with boredom. I must say that this isn’t a metal release by any stretch of the imagination, but the elements are there especially during the first few songs. The writing style is mature and the performance is entertaining. I think this man deserves a shot at being heard, but with the competition being so grand these days it’s hard to predict if this fella will sink or swim. There is some potential for his music to be heard on terrestrial radio on the softer channels or even satellite radio, but only time will tell. A thoroughly entertaining piece of art for sure.
Joe Florez
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A due anni dal debutto “Phraseology” torna il talentuoso chitarrista svedese Patrik Carlsson con questo “Melodic Travel”, che in 70 minuti permette al musicista polistrumentista (è infatti lo stesso Patrik che suona tutti gli strumenti) di spaziare attraverso diversi stili e generi, proponendo 16 tracce strumentali con influenze rock, pop, neoclassiche, jazz e folk in parte riconducibili alle sue fonti d’ispirazione (tra cui Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Robben Ford), ma in gran parte ricche di spunti personali e con un invidiabile gusto per la melodia. Infatti ogni traccia di questo platter riesce a conciliare una tecnica esecutiva sopraffina con l’orecchiabilità e l’accessibilità della musica, il che rende gradevole l’ascolto anche per chi, come il sottoscritto, non appartiene al mondo della sei corde. Inoltre, ogni canzone all’interno di questo “Melodic Travel” racconta una storia precisa, ed è caratterizzata da una particolare atmosfera che viene descritta attraverso delle immagini reperibili nel sito dell’artista: in questo modo il viaggio citato nel titolo dell’album non è solo uditivo, ma anche visivo, a completamento di un’opera affascinante e intrigante. Così se prima si viene colpiti dalla maestosità di “Battlefield” e dall’aggressività incalzante di “Caribbean Uptempo”, poi si è avvolti dalla dolcezza jazzistica di “Night Vision”, e dalla soave malinconia di “Naboo”, passando per la vivacità e allegria di “Luxian Minor”, a conferma della varietà del disco in questione che, come già detto, risulta piacevole, nonostante la proposta (oltre un’ora di musica strumentale) non sia propriamente attraente per i non addetti ai lavori.
Quindi, un lavoro consigliatissimo per i chitarristi, ma suggerisco a tutti voi un ascolto per immergervi in un viaggio melodico estremamente vario ed affascinante.
Enrico Della Gaspera
Rate 5/6
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Patrik Carlsson is a new talented guitar player from Sweden. In 2004 he released his debut album "Phraseology" and now 2 years later he's back with a new album.
I have not heard his debut album but you can read Kaj's review of it on Melodic.net. On "Melodic Travel", Patrik has done everything on his own with a good result. He delivers nice pop/rock with influences from both folk and jazz in it.
He has created a nice mixture of electric and acoustic guitars that can be heard on many of the songs. Some of the songs made me think of Santana.
Yes, there is a latino feel over a couple of the tracks. But I think the album is way too long with a running time over 70 minutes and with 16 tracks my patience was gone. Many of the songs has the same sound and style over them. But if you're into more laid back instrumental guitarmusic then check out this new album from Patrik Carlsson.
Juha Harjula
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This 16 track album from Swedish instrumental guitarist Patrik Carlsson certainly gives any newcomers to his music a good variety of styles to choose from. This offering is in the main a folk/jazz inspired collection with a very melodic feel to the compositions. On closer inspection there are however many other musical influences explored and adapted to suit Carlsson’s style. Caribbean, Spanish, Scandinavian and African roots are clearly audible in his style and deliverance, many of which are reflected in the track titles. Tracks of note include: “Gate to Heaven”, a beautiful haunting tune; “Na Boo”, an instantly infectious tune; the funky “Caribbean Up-tempo” which is exactly as the title suggests; and “Luxian Minor”, which has a rolling, meandering, soulful quality about it. A good album to chill to. (3/5)
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A l’écoute, il n’y a pas photo : Patrik Carlsson se positionne dans la catégorie des guitaristes techniquement doués, à l’aise dans de nombreuses configurations mariant « Rock », « Jazz » et même « Folk ». Sans conteste, la guitare est l’instrument privilégié. A l’opposé, les percussions paraissent négligées et déçoivent parfois par leur pauvreté et leur banalité. Les compositions apparaissent d’un bon niveau.
Tout au long de ces pièces, la parenté avec certains de ses confrères guitaristes les plus talentueux ne peut jamais être reniée. Joe Stariani et Steve Vai dans « Settler’s Pleasure » et « Battlefield », éblouissants et colorés, et « Caribbean Uptempo », aux déferlements guitaristiques plus indigestes. Steve Morse dans « Kriistiina’Song ». Carlos Santana dans la jolie ballade « Gate to Heaven », ponctuée par un splendide solo digne de Joe Satriani ; dans également les élégants « Archipelago Blues » et « Hip’n Melodic ». Carlos Santana et Al Di Meola dans le rafraîchissant et flamboyant « Luxian Minor ». Frank Gambale dans « Liberty City », rapide et dansant, qui utilise une palette instrumentale plus large et qui pourrait même intégrer la musique de clubs de danses, souvent englués dans de vieux « Rocks » mille fois entendus. John Scofield dans « Night Vision » et « The Great A », élégants, saccadés et… mieux soutenus par les percussions. John Abercrombie dans « Desederia ». Paco de Lucia et Al Di Meola dans les majestueux et hispanisants « Spanish Vaganza » et « Silence ». Pour le reste, Espèce de « Folk-Jazz Musette » bien fichu et guilleret, « Happy Quarter » ne manque pas de surprendre. A l’opposé, « Naboo », couvert par d’énervantes percussions, ne fait jamais vibrer.
En définitive, un album toujours agréable mais sans grande personnalité.
Score: ***
By: JPS1er
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www.extendedmix.com
This is written in Swedish only and no translate is available. I am very sorry about that...
Lars Eric Mattsson startade sitt bolag, Lion Music, 1997, efter flera besvikelser med att få ordentlig spotlight på sina plattor. Denne gitarrist har sedan dess släppt mellan 25 och trettio plattor om året, med andra artister. Eftersom han själv är gitarrist så har det blivit en hel del gitarrplattor genom åren, men också mycket progressiv metal och jazzinfluerad rock. Gitarrfantomer som Tony MacAlpine, Richie Kotzen, Alex Masi och Tony Hernando är några som alla släppt plattor på finska Lion.
En svensk gitarrhjälte är PATRIK CARLSSON, som släppte sin debut på Lion för två år sedan, men som faktiskt har ett tiotal plattor på sitt samvete i olika konstellationer. PATRIK är en gitarrist som har ett härligt sväng i sitt spel, men som tenderar att bli lite tjatig i längden, då han insisterar på att spela sig igenom mer än 95 procent av låten utan att hämta kraft. Det är då en himla tur att variationen på stilar som PATRIK presenterar på nya albumet ”Melodic travel” går från hård rock till folkviseton, från Santana till George Benson, från samba till vals.
Något som är mindre kul med nya albumet är att PATRIK spelar alla instrument själv och att han även producerat allt själv. Det låter inte speciellt kul, och då är jag snäll när jag säger så (det är ju ändå jul snart!). Trummaskinen som han använder måste vara 20 år gammal och basen är alldeles för lågt mixad. I och för sig är det ju en gitarrplatta, men det får inte gå hur långt som helst. Flera av spåren ligger på sämre nivå än demostadie, speciellt handlar det om albumets första spår.
En av mina favoriter är tredje spåret, ”Kristiina’s song”, som påminner lite om Isildurs Bane korsat med något gammalt proggband. En söt liten gitarrfigur som tyvärr har en alldeles för tråkig inramning. ”Luxian minor” tar oss med till Rio’s bakgator och kvarterspartyt sent en natt framför brinnande tunnor som lyser upp den varma sydamerikanska natten. ”The great A” gillar jag mest för det lite udda tempot och PATRIK’s gitarrljud. Mot slutet av plattan så blir låtarna lite för lika och speltiden på över 70 minuter är på tok för långt. Kort sagt en platta som ändå håller en bättre nivå än många andra gitarrplattor gör. Jag är inte så förtjust i fenomenet, men variationen på ”Melodic travel” är ett plus.
Recenserad av Roger
Betyg 6/10
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Fons: Quite a long ride, this over 70 minutes long second effort of Patrik Carlsson. Especially when you think that the music of this Swedish guitarist has hardly anything to do with our dearly beloved genre. 'Melodic Travel' is an instrumental pop/rock album with lots of jazz, blues, fusion and South American influences of guitarists such as Steve Lukather, Joe Satriani and Al Di Meola.
The cd has lots of slower and calmer parts, and after about five songs I really need some heavier stuff to please my ears. Open minded Lords Of Metal readers should give 'Melodic Travel' a chance, unfortunately, it is not really my cup of tea.
Rating: 68/100
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Comments: One of the new Swedish guitarists this millennium Patrik Carlsson arrives yet again with a new instrumental guitar release entitled Melodic Travel. The release is best characterized as a peaceful dalliance into a world seldom traveled (especially by Swedish shred styled guitar players). There are electric and acoustic guitars on this journey but 90% of the time the songs are all about relaxation. There is no show off masturbation shred styled solo's here, rather a reflective emotional take on the six stringed instruments.
This is as far from the typical Swedish Malmsteen prodigy as humanly possible. Patrik best describes it on the Lion Music site saying "the melodic travel begins in the deep forests of the northern mountains. You will hear the sound of ancient workers with their tools and the melody once created with the violins celebrating their lifestyle. Having passed through different environments and landscapes the adventure will end up in a red cottage on a small island far away from modern civilization, where the water and the winds are quiet and the sunset soon will pass into darkness". Each song has its own story and Patrik's website www.figstamper.com has illustrations to accompany each track. See how different this guitar instrumental album is from the rest?
Now onto the major business of analyzing its faults and merits. The old world approach while unique certainly will have a more limited appeal then the shred fest solo albums would. The music is nice but not extraordinary or really all that catchy. The tracks labor on and on with no ending in site and one sounds like the next after a while. Is this a talented guitarist? Well after hearing near folk-rock music for an hour the question sadly remains unanswered. Many European guitarists' like Simone Fiorletta or Milan Polak have a soft side and show the ability to play deft emotional pieces but also rock and shred with the best of them. As this was not the choice or purpose of the album we will not know if Patrik has these skills.
It is almost like a campfire sings-a-long with no real technically difficult pieces to wow you either. A year ago Malmsteen played the "Star Spangled Banner" on an acoustic guitar live at a performance and it sounded heavenly, almost spiritual. A few days earlier it was George Lynch improvising acoustical with an extended version of "Alone Again" and that was amazing. So it is possible to wow folks with an acoustic guitar in the rock instrumental genre, but pretty rare.
Oh well if you want some clean played fireside folk art-rock then this is the CD for you. Otherwise, pick up a Chris Impeliterri disc and go to war with a rifle, not a pea shooter.
Matthew Hoffman
HRH Rating: 5/10
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Following on from his 2004 debut release ‘Phraseology’, Swedish guitar maestro Patrik Carlsson returns with his latest album ‘Melodic Travel’. The album name is no accident as that is what this album, is a journey along a melodic path, with just a few stops along the way to take in just a hint of folk and jazz for good measure.
This album is full of varying tones and pitches, rhymes and reasons, that will both enthral and puzzle the listener, as Carlsson takes you through sixteen magical tracks of sheer guitar bliss. The album opens up with ‘Settlers Pleasure’ and in an instant your journey begins as Carlsson puts his Vai and Satriani influences through their paces with a powerful statement of soulful riffs and varying tempo changes.
The journey continues with the excellent ‘Battlefield’, as this track unfolds you can almost smell the gun smoke as you start to visualize the blood strewn battleground in your minds eye. This has to be one of my favourite pieces from the album. The album turns another corner with ‘Kristina’s Song’ with its more gentle, almost folk rock feel to this one, you can imagine this one being played on an electric fiddle rather than a guitar.
Such is the diversity of the material on this album one time your rocking to some great melodic rock guitar then suddenly your dancing around the campfire to some gypsy folk music with ‘Caribbean Uptempo’, before you're taking on a magic carpet ride that is ‘Gate To Heaven’, and so the journey continues along these many different paths. Those jazz undertones I spoke of earlier are very prominent with the next track ‘Liberty City’ and raise their heads once again on ‘Luxian Minor’. The album takes a notable blues direction with the easy listening feel of ‘Archipelago Blues’, with the blues soon giving way to the jazz guitars once again with the majestic ‘Night Vision’.
The more traditional guitar album fans may be somewhat over awed by what has gone before, but things get back on track with ‘a Great A’, ‘Hip and Melodic’ and the mellow tones of ‘Desederia’. The varying world influences continue throughout the album but none more so than with the typically Parisian tones of ‘Happy Quarter’ and the Latino feel of ‘Spanish Vaganza’, plus another of my favourite tracks the sublime ‘Naboo’, which is squeezed in between. This musical journey comes to an end with ‘Silence’, a great track to put on after a hard day when you just want to unwind with a glass of wine some dim lighting and that someone special by your side.
This album may not make Carlsson a household name, but it will surely get his name mentioned around the guitar magazines and with fellow guitarists and musicians around the world.
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more reviews will added later...?
