Customer Reviews

Dorado

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One listen to the gloriously evocative "Diabolic" or "Last Chance" and you'll know Mr. Wilsey's returned in fine form, sounding like the original guitarslinger who fueled the patented Chris Isaak high lonesome guitar sound of "Blue Hotel", "Wicked Game" and "Western Stars". To my ears, James channels equal parts Duane Eddy and Hank Marvin, fashioning one of the most distinctive tones ever. Throw in some moody Western soundtracking and early John Barry scoring and you've got the secret sauce of "El Dorado". Warning: There are no vocals here, just classic rock 'n' roll instrumental stylings.

As a fan of early Chris Isaak, I've always been impressed by the early work featuring the amazing James Wilsey on lead guitar. You could always feel the emotions of the songs through that hypnotic guitar playing of his, and it's my opinion that his playing abilities were as much a part of the success of Chris Isaak and Silvertone as Mr. Isaak's crooning. Everytime you hear "Wicked Game" on the radio, it's James's haunting guitar that strikes you most. Sadly, James Wilsey left Chris Isaak and hadn't been heard from since. Within the last decade not a few fans wondered where he went, and when we would be able to hear that signature guitar sound again.

"El Dorado", released in February of 2008, answers this question with an amazing collection of original instrumental pieces that are the best work produced to date. If you liked James Wilsey's playing with Silvertone, you will be amazed by such songs as Tierra Del Fuego and The Rattler, as well as San Bernadino, songs that rank equally with the best of Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, The Shadows, and Link Wray.

The tones that James Wilsey evokes from his Fender Stratocaster will scorch your days and haunt nights. Vast lonely vistas and mean streets mixed with a strange lost-dream feeling that reminds; you must have been here before. Twang, reverb and tremolo: the hot wind blows across the endless High Plains, you thirst for a drink of cool water. The sun beats down on the brim of your Stetson; Maria still waits across the inhospitable frontier. A beautiful scenic (and sonic) adventure. James Wilsey would do well scoring movies, who will be fortunate enough to snatch him up for their next epic? (Tarantino, are you listening?)

Jimmy (James) Wilsey got me into surf music in the 80s-90s. This is why I love retro sounding music. I always wondered what had happened to him and I am glad he is back. He is totally important at least to me as a guitarist. His tone is king. Very few people ever have the tone and the depth of a guitarist like him. I recall hearing about him with a band called the Mysteries a couple of years back and then nothing.
While I still dig Chris Isaaks band and they are top notch, his sound is more adult contemporary now. He has a different sound without Jimmy. But you can only be in the Shadows so long. I hope it isn't his last CD for 14 years.

If you don't have this CD, you need to buy this CD, NOW! I've bought it, bought it for friends, I feel everyone should have it, and to have it, you should BUY a copy so the artist gets compensated accordingly for their work. It's one of those great CDs that you can listen to all the way through, no need to forward through the 'not so good' stuff to get to the good stuff, this is all good. If any of you were there back in the 'day' to hear this great guitar sound when he played with Chris Isaak, then you will instantly recognize that THIS is the sound that has been missing from your life for all these years (almost 20 years, right ladies?) ANYway, what are you doing sitting and reading my review? GO BUY THIS CD, buy a few and get free shipping, BUY THIS CD NOW! It will make you a better person...

It's been a long time since Wicked Game was released, but Wilsey still has it! He delivers on every note and every bend in a way that few guitarists can. If you enjoyed the noises he made with Chris Isaak and Silvertone, you owe it to yourself to listen to this record! Bravo Jimmy!

The Haunting Vintage Fender tone with all that reverb and big headroom is back. People might remember that sound from the early days of Chris Isaak and the Silvertones. Well that guitar tone behind Chris Isaak was the man himself James Calvin Wilsey. And after the long time off he is back with the petal to the metal with El Dorado! When you hear the first song "El Dorado' to the 10th song "Insomnia" you just want to play it again and again. It will put you in a state of mind that you just want to jump in your car and drive out west. So pickup El Dorado, Fillup the gas tank put on your cowboy hat and boot's put in the CD and turn it up on your way to El Dorado. You don't want to ever go back. You just want more after this.
Joseph R DiMalante aka Joe Russ DeMar

I really, really enjoy this CD, but you have to be ready for this kind of music. It isn't everyone's cup of tea. The reviews out there have pretty much characterized it, so read those and listen to the samples. What is here is really original and is one of the key ingredients that made Silvertone so enjoyable in their earlier CDs. Listen to Blue Hotel, Wrong to Love You (the early version, not the wimpy version on Baja Sessions) - in fact, most anything on the "Heart Shaped World" CD and you will know. This is the strong, muscular guitar work that shaped Silverton'e sound in that era. Of course, I enjoy Chris Isaak and Silvertone's work and always will. But Mr. Wilsey's sound is missing from later CDs and you will know that when you listen to "El Dorado." It is my sincere wish that Mr. Wilsey craft some more songs for fans of this kind of music.

James Wilsey is a one of a kind musician with a singularly unique approach that immediately sets him apart. His music is big, bold, deep and mysterious. From start to end, El Dorado is a journey of breathtaking images for the listener.

I listened casually to, and enjoyed Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game" years ago - but the thing that totally made that song work for me was always the echoing electric hollow-body lead guitar lines. This album by James Wilsey, the guitarist that worked with Chris Isaak on that album, is an all-instrumental wide-open gorgeous desert soundscape that captures the mystery of western guitar reverberating off the canyon walls. It wails, it growls, it has a lyrical quality that is highly evocative of composer Ennio Morricone's best known work, but with a voice all its own. The musicality is deep and profound while retaining a complete sense of "wilderness". It draws you into the picture it paints in a way that is completely captivating. This is one of the most successful "pure guitar" albums of the last thirty years (at least); the 30-second previews don't begin to do justice to the way that each piece develops - when you hear each song play it paints a completely different picture, almost like telling a story, with a setting, exposition, conclusion, and dénouement. Seriously, this is one OUTSTANDING album - please do yourself a favor a check it out. If you think that you might enjoy a serious western-flavored Mark Knopfler / Hank Marvin / Duane Eddy tone set in the atmospheric undulations of classic film noir - you will very much "get" this album. A truly unique and special set of songs - genuine and excellent.