Chromaticity

Tony MacAlpine | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 7, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Shrapnel
• ASIN: B00005MLW5
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,590 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists > Shred
  • #56 in Music > Indie Music > Rock > Rock Guitarists

Track Listings

1. Christmas Island

2. Chromaticity

3. City Beneath the Sea

4. Digitalis Destructi

5. Isis

6. Prince of Light

7. Still Valley

8. Avenger

9. Eye of the Soul

10. Etude Nr. 8 Op. 10

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another excellent Macalpine release., December 15, 2001

By 

"zdv" (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chromaticity (Audio CD)

I'm a big fan of most of Macalpine's work, and when I first listened to this one, I kind of got the "blah" feeling that other reviewers allude to. I put the CD away and listened again after a couple months, and all the tunes somehow clicked in my head. I love it when a CD can do that!

After quite a bit of listening, I still think this album sits in the shadow of "Edge of Insanity", "Maximum Security", and "Premonition". However, the compositions are solid, with the expected wicked guitar shred that underlies Macalpine's reputation. Steve Smith (of Journey fame) returns to the band and performs some killer drumming, and in some songs Macalpine does some excellent sounding keyboard shredding. "Avenger" is easily my favorite song on this album - it has a totally rocking rhythm with excellent keyboard leads. One of the best Macalpine songs ever, in my opinion.

I didn't notice any really weak songs on the album either, which is always a good thing. However, the last song, a Chopin etude, is probably superfluous. He's already played all the killer etudes on other albums! I'd prefer another one of Tony's songs instead.

To me, if you're a Macalpine fan you'll enjoy this one, even if you don't feel it's his best album. Those new to Tony Macalpine would probably be best advised to first check out the three aforementioned albums.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tony MacAlpine does it again, February 10, 2004

By 

"randy81866" (Germantown, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chromaticity (Audio CD)

I don't know what some of these guys are talking about. This is not just another ho-hum instrumental album. Every song is different and shows Tony's versatility. It seems like the negative reviews always come from the guys that can't play this kind of stuff, mainly because they're too lazy to push themselves to a higher level where you can really take pride in your technical ability. I've been playing for 22 years now and have been listening to Tony since the mid 80's. It took me a long time to develop my technical ability, but I owe it to guitarists like Tony MacAlpine. This is a great album and worth every penny!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Harmonic and melodic genius in a stylistic kaleidescope, September 4, 2001

By 

D Strong "Strong" (COLLEGE PARK, GEORGIA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chromaticity (Audio CD)

This album rivals any of the best of Tony's works - say, Maximum Security and Premonition, among others. Not merely repeating these masterpeices' ideas, and yet still utilizing trademark Macalpinisms - yes, the blistering arppegioes, the furious rhythms and chord changes, the incredible legato, the profound melodic sense, and so on - this album nonetheless reveals new sounds, compositional approaches, keyboard and guitar techniques and styles, and numerous other things simply unheard of on other Macalpine albums. Also, superb production give this album a magnificently, dare I say, polished, even refined sound, although Tony's feeling still speaks clearly through his tone. " Prince of Light," " City Beneath the Sea," and " Isis," for instance, melodically dazzle and are virtually classics of Tony's music. Other songs are for those not faint of heart, songs like " Digitalis Destructi, " " Eye of the Soul, " " Christmas Island, " and " Still Valley " are strongly melodioc, though much heavier and (super-) technically demanding and complex(very, in some cases) compositions. Steve Smith (Vital Information), who, incidnetally, played some of his best work (along with extraordinary bassist, Barry Sparks) said that the Chromaticity's music was " brilliant and challenging. " Stylistically, the album is not neoclassical. Instead, it combines jazz fusion and instrumental hard rock with a some neoclassical brushstrokes( Reading a few of the preceding reviews, I have to right the record, here. From age 5, Tony has been a classically trained and experienced pianist with an extensive musical education, ranking him among the most schooled musicians in hard-rock, and this influence understanably shows in his virtuosity. The harmonic and melodic sense he gained early in his life has simply evolved, making him a truly amazing musician/composer. As such, to characterise him as the ' usual ' neoclassical player - or for that matter as exclusively a neo classical player - is ludicrous, if not mean-spirited, oversimplification).
If you enjoy virtuosic instrumental records and, especially, if you like Tony, this is a must-buy album, to say the least.