Cab 2

Tony MacAlpine | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 20, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tone Center
• ASIN: B000059LDZ
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,052 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Decisions

2. Madeline

3. Dennis

4. For Joe

5. South Side

6. Song for My Friend

7. Temperamental

8. Top Spin

9. Wah Wah

10. Sunday

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Should be called CAMB, March 13, 2001

By 

eveoflove (North York, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cab 2 (Audio CD)

Made in USA in 2000, Serial# TC-40142, Playing Time 72:26

Following in the footsteps of their first collaboration (CAB), this albums presents some great performances by MacAlpine, Brunel, Chambers and Auger(who contributed on the 1st album, without making the band's name).

While the first album was somewhat a fusion of jazz and rock (leaning more on the jazz), this second effort is a lot jazzier. These 4 virtuosos perform instrumental tracks, and showcase their respective talents, but without trying to outshine one another. It's more like a discussion, where the performers take turns at expression their opinion.

The melodies are fresh: it doesn't sound like they've rehearsed things to death, with just the right dose of improvisation, but still following a song structure. The "tunes" are generally a bit longer than on their first album, allowing for a bit more room to extrapolate.

I'm not a big fan of jazz in general, but the performances on this album show how musicians with great talent can demonstrate their art with complicity, instead of showmanship. There's enough complexity in here so that you'll notice different subtleties with each listening instance.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Modern Jazz Fusion, September 3, 2002

By 

J. E FELL "boogaloojef" (Carterville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cab 2 (Audio CD)

While I would not rate this disk as highly as some people, I also do not think it as bad as some reveiwers have stated. I am a fan of some jazz fusion so my review might be slightly biased. Part of the reason I purchased this disk is that I am a fan of both Brian Auger and Dennis Chambers. While Auger is present, I wish he would have been a little more prominent in the recording. His early seventies albums are good examples of keyboard dominated jazz/funk/rock fusion. Chamber's playing is excellent as usual and Brunel is no slouch on bass either. What surprised me most about this disk was the guitar playing of Tony MacAlpine. He was one the infamous shred guitar heroes of the eighties. However, his playing while not as jazzy as John Scofield, Mike Stern, or Larry Coryell, is lot more restrained and melodic than I expected. My favorite songs on the disk are "For Joe", "Top Spin", & "Wah Wah". The disk is slightly above average modern jazz fusion. While jazzbos will complain that the music is not jazzy enough and rockers not flashy enough, you can't please everyone. I am impressed enough to consider purchasing more jazz fusion disks from the Tone Center label.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tony MacAlpine is The God of Hell Fire!, April 10, 2004

By 

Oscar Jordan (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cab 2 (Audio CD)

All the arm chair critic snobs here who can't play, should just break out their old IOU and Stanley Clarke albums, have a Coke and a smile, and admit that they have become their parents. Yeah, you're old!

The whole band is amazing, the tones are rich, the playing stellar, and Tony MacAlpine is the God of Hell Fire. This is a nice move for Tony. From Neo-Classical to Planet X, (Have you seen him with Vai!!!) and now this. He's pushing the envelope and his guitar tone on Cab 2 is the best he's ever had. It's very refreshing to hear Tony play with more sense of funk, and with Dennis Chambers on board how could he not?

Dennis Chambers?! Oh my God! Brian Auger?! Oh Yeah! Bunny?! Boo-Ya!!!

If only Scofield could play more like this. Like he had some fire in his belly (Mustard in his soul!) and stopped playing tired, cerebral, scholastic, white bread, funk jazz.

MacAlpine comes from a whole other direction joining this band which makes it so fresh. I dig that he's not coming from a post bop clone school attempting to break free of it like so many others. MacAlpine brings the fire of Malmsteen and the jaw dropping facility of Holdsworth but sounds like neither. In context, the band in on a whole other level because of their different influences.

It's the mixing of genres that makes it special. Not a bunch of Miles Davis alumni being allstars with nothing to shake anyone up with.

Greg Howe's Extraction with Dennis Chambers and Victor Wooten wasn't even this successful. Howe wants to be so hip when he should just shred and let the rhythm section do their thing. It's the contrast in musical styles that makes projects like this special. Not everyone coming from the same place.

We need more unadulterated shredders doing projects with funk jazz guys. Enough with the bop clones trying to impress dead people.

I will definetly be buying more Cab releases.