Customer Reviews

Coming To Your Senses

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Summing up my feelings about this CD I would say it is Frank's best work since "The Great Explorers" album. This might not help you much so here are some more thoughts. I don't think Franks guitar tone has sounded this good for a long time. Maybe its his new Yamaha guitar or something, but it's really nice and I want one. There are some wonderful melodies here too. Memorable, catchy, tasteful, with interesting rythmical backdrops. The solo guitar is tasteful and rarely over the top. Frank's vibrato is just sublime. The album is all instrumental, and pretty recognisable as Frank Gambale (which is a good thing). The jazz fusion style here is really easy to listen to, as long as you like guitar based music that is. One track, "Major Fascination" reminds me of an Alan Holdsworth/Bill Bruford/Jeff Berlin sound. The bass/drums/keyboard work on the album is just great but I've never heard of any of the musicians involved so I guess I must have had my head in the sand or something. When Frank really gets going his solo improvisations always seem interesting. I like a lot of "shredders" eg Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Macalpine, Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani etc and although Frank is perhaps not fast by modern standards, he doesn't have to be to keep my ear interested. After Pat Metheny, Frank Gambale is my second favourite fusion guitar player, closely followed by Greg Howe, so if you like any of these artistes then you may well like Frank too. This is definitely a 5-star product.

Frank Gambale may be the best fusion style guitar player of the lot. That doesn't automatically enable him to produce a great CD yet he does. You'll have to get past the first track which sounds like a tongue in cheek poke at garage band guitarists as he begins with a grungy tone played in a different key than the bass player. Cute Frank. But after the first track the album is mesmerizing. There's plenty of soloing and his 'mic the amp and screw the effects' tone just drips from the speakers. Think rare vintage Marshall half stack about two feet away from the listener. On the Holdsworth like piece (track 4) towards the end of the solo he plays these descending patterns at light speed that even caught the my wife's ear. Can you do that she asks? Uh... yeah, sure honey. This is a must have guitar album. The compositions are enjoyable on their own, yet each encapsulates one classic solo after another.

First of all, excuse me for the following english mistakes... For me, Frank Gambale is the best guitar player of the universe. His approach of speed picking is just the best technique I've ever known on a guitar. And 'Coming to Your Senses' prooves it again. There are good melodies, and the solos are simply great. And I must say something : he plays an Ibanez guitar, not a Yamaha ! So if you like good guitar with great technique, you'll enjoy this album. Once again, Thunder signed on !

I have never really liked much Jazz, but as of hearing Frank Gambale's song 'The Italian Job' it totally changed my oppinion. If your like guitar music this is a must also, he is an amazing guitar player. All the songs on the CD are great, but 'The Italian Job' is my pick for the best song. Just give it a listen, I find it very relaxing.

Frank's weak point seems to be soloing-he has chops, an amazing intelligence with composition and an innovative approach, but after years of a questionable rock-jazz sound, he seems to be getting better and better. This album is his finest, in my opinion. His use of chordal melodies (is that an actual term?) is amazing, and his comping is very interesting and sporadic. There's a lot more soul and thought going into his music these days, even though I'm just a beginner fan. My favorite tracks are Major Fascination (great drumming and melody), Salvador Once More (amazing soloing, great drumming) and Land of the Leal (beautiful archtop sound, great classic drumming technique). As you can see, I appreciate drummers, especially the work by Joel Taylor and Ray Brinker. Both shine in their respective styles. Frank's sweep picking lines used to be predictable arpeggios, but now he's really turning them into interesting and unpredictable runs, which must be hard considering he's spent years and years practicing it. He's no Scofield, but he really loves jazz and his passion shows. Hopefully he will get weirder and more daring as time goes on. And of course he sounds 100 times better live, which I always get to do at La Ve Lee. Stop by sometime!

While the fingerwork on this disk is phenomenal, the songwriting is uneven. There are 2 or 3 outstanding tracks, i.e., great songs as well as brilliantly played. But the songwriting by and large is uninspired and immature. Structurally, the compositions are very simple. Perhaps some will find the quirky childishness charming. I was expecting Opus One and I got Yellow Tail.