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18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yngwie should do more like this, July 4, 2000
This recording is a landmark for Yngwie and for electric guitar. I say it is a landmark because very few electric guitarists have actually composed and recorded a concerto for their instrument. Fewer still have performed their work with a world class philharmonic. I hope to see more like this from Yngwie and from other electric guitarists as it will advance the young instrument further beyond mere pop-culture music. My only gripe (a minor one)about this recording is that Yngwie (as usual) overplays at points. There is an extended acoustic solo (which by Yngwie's own admission is improvised) that borders on obvious "wanking." Such is inappropriate for this kind of music. Improvising is great as long as it doesn't sound like mere improvising - especially in this context. Yngwie said in an interview that he had problems with the mix recording this live so he had to punch the guitar track in. This is too bad since it makes live performances of his piece less likely. He probably was too loud. I saw him last year after waiting for years to see him and was extremely dissappointed by his volume which was so lound and piercing, it hurt - and I could not wait to leave. What made it more dissappointing was that his playing was really good that night. Anyone who likes this should love Uli Roth's "Prologue to Symphonic Legends." Uli is a major influence on Yngwie and has even more depth. If Yngwie would use a guitar like Uli's extended range Sky guitar, his classical performances would be even better. All in all I would highly recommend this to guitar fans. This is probably the finest work from one of the world's top guitarists.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good playing and proper compositions., April 2, 2001
This review is from: Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar (Audio CD)
I've been an Yngwie admirer since Alcatrazz. However, after the "Odyssey", every time he deploys something new I get the feeling he is just repeating himself again and again, as if he had lost his inspiration. Thus, I must confess that I really expected something more "out-of-this-world" in this orchestral release. I was wrong. Yngwie just changed his usual backing army of a heavy metal band by a symphonic orchestra, to achieve just a notable result that I think has no transcendence in the long term. The story is the same: Yngwie furiously plays those licks he has been playing for years and made of him one of the greatest guitar heroes of all times -- but as always since "Odyssey", in pretty predictible movements. Just that, and nothing else: barocque-like phrases at the speed of light (most of them based on minor and diminished scales), an impeccable sweeping technique for arpeggios and the cleanest sound a guitarist could ever have. Point. "That sounds good", -- someone could say; but the bad things of this release are the compositions, which I find heartless, boring and full of clichés -- his own ones, true, but clichés after all. While Yngwie succeeds in integrating the electric guitar with the orchestra in a smooth way, others like Blackmore have done a better job because they maintained alive the essence of this modern instrument, by exploring its possibilities rather than just playing a bunch of notes on it. Yngwie excels in his performance, but he should go beyond... I just wonder what Yngwie could do if he was more innovative, like Frank Zappa, Steve Vai or Joe Satriani. While he is one of the most gifted guitar players in the world, I'm starting to think that God didn't give him enough talent to compose as a contemporary author must do. He is married to his classic style, and for many people he is loosing his attractiveness because there is no palpable evolution in what he does. In few words: buy this CD if you like good playing and proper compositions, but don't expect more than that.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Have, June 1, 2001
This review is from: Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar (Audio CD)
The scope of this project is incredible. Play classical guitar on an electric guitar with a quality symphony backing you. The production is eloquent in that the guitar and the symphony compliment one another, and Yngwie's playing is magnificent. You don't hear guys like Vai or Satriani or Johnson or Blackmore saying anything but glowing things about Malmsteen. This schtick about him only being a technician is not only wrong, it is short sighted. Playing classical music is about bringing the music alive... not about innovating NEW music or phraseology. That's why it's called "classical." No one else in the world could have pulled this off and Yngwie deserves all the credit that can be mustered. And to compare this effort to Metallica? With all due respect to Metallica... get serious.
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