Customer Reviews

Ee Ticket

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

 

 

This cd is hard to find,but is one of the best insrumental rock cds that I own. The song SLAUGHTER DOWN MEMORY LANE,which was a minor hit on album rock stations in early 1992 will absolutely blow your mind; and you will never get tired of listening to the brilliant guitar work which is done with maximum feeling and craftsmanship. This cd also contains the hit single WHITE NOISE. Bonilla is definately up there in the ranks of Satriani,Steve Vai,Eric Johnson,Jeff Beck,Tony Macalpine,etc. Each song rocks and is well produced. A great cd to play air guitar to as well.

I have hundreds of instrumental albums. This album is probably my favorite. Bonilla is a skilled guitarist who, unlike most shredders, can actually write great songs! Just as Beck's "Blow by Blow" and Ronnie Montrose's "Open Fire" were my favorite instrumental guitar albums in the 1970's, this album (and to a lesser extent, Bonilla's follow-up "American Matador) is at the top of the list for albums from the 1990's.

Guests include Ronnie Montrose and Keith Emerson. Bonilla and producer Kevin Gilbert created segues between the tracks which add a lot to the album (I wish that American Matador had them). Although the whole album is great, "Slaughter on Memory Lane" is absolutely spectacular!

I bought this after hearing "White Noise" on the radio, and quickly found that song to be one of the weakest on the album. Which is unfortunate, because people will listen to the first song and think "oh, he's a shredder" and might get turned off, which is unfortunate becase though Bonilla can shred, he has an unusual breadth and depth to his playing.
Bonilla is a great technical player (of which there are many), but more importantly he plays with great feeling (rare).
It's a bit of a concept album - the 1st song ("Entrance") has a "boarding a rollercoaster" intro and the last song ("Exit") has an "exiting the rollercoaster" outro... the idea being that the album is a rollercoaster ride, hence the title (double-E tickets being the best rides at Disneyland). The songs range from metal shred to funk to organic bluesy ballads, and there is sound between the tracks that melds them together and eases you from one song to the next. This is less a collection of 12 songs than one continuous "ride" that changes along the way.
When I first bought it, I literally listened to nothing but this CD several times a day for three weeks straight. Sounds odd? Maybe, but the album really is that good.

Having grown up and been very inspired as a guitarist by Jeff Beck, Ronnie Montrose, Peter Frampton, Michael Schenker, Neal Schon, Jimmy Page and Eric Johnson, I am a HUGE fan of Melodic instrumental Music played with feeling. I first heard Marc on KOME Radio in San Jose CA back in the good old days of Rock radio when the programmers actually put on Musical talent they thought discerning ears would appreciate. Not just "More than a Feeling", "Sweet Home Alabama" and "China Grove" every day until you want to throw up. By the way, that's not meant to offend to those Artists or fans, I'm just making a point about the incredibly sad state of Radio now. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Marc Bonilla! Anyway, if you are a fan of Instrumental Music that is played with real depth, sincerity and amazing chops, you will NOT be dissapointed. The songs are actually, you know, SONGS played by mature musicians with the gravity of knowing they are meant to go to your heart - not impress other guitar players. Overall, the songs are all of good quality, and the recording/mix is fantastic as well. For those of you who appreciate a good clean mix and separation of instruments. Much like Ronnie Montrose after he stopped producing radio hits with Sammy Hagar, Marc Bonilla never quite had the Day In The Sun they both so richly deserve. It's SUCH a shame that those in the World with so much to offer, never quite get their due. Well, enough editorializing. This CD is definitely worth buying. I promise you, the "EE Ticket" will be one of the few rides you won't want to get out of.

Sometimes I own an album for years before writing a review. But every now and then a musical release comes along that I review after just one listen, just to give a first impression report. A `gut reaction', if you will, and this album is one such occasion where I felt inspired not to listen to the album 50 times, nay not even 5 times, before putting finger to keypad. So here is my off the cuff, from the heart, review on this `un;

Marc Bonilla has here constructed a flighty, feisty and fun album of instrumental rock guitar sonics. He can shred, but has more facets to his playing. And note that I pointed out this is instrumental rock, not instrumental metal, despite the fact hard rockers are such big consumers of this genre. Nope, Bonilla has delivered 12 tracks of unmitigated fun, too light hearted for real metal, too easily distracted by being the bower bird of the genre to really knuckle down for a shredding blitz (though if he set his mind to creating such an album I've no doubt he could). As the album expands before the listener there seems to be present equal parts rock, funk and even a touch of jazz . The whole thing scoots along taking it's twists & turns wherever the road leads, but at the same time staying linear enough to be enjoyed as music rather than an exercise `look how off the wall I am!' tomfoolery.

Production on this album is traditional enough to gather all the sounds on the release and tie them into a viable whole, Kevin Gilbert doing the honours and a few guest slots add a touch of interest (Ronnie Montrose, Troy Kuccketta and Keith Emerson). Informative liner notes with track by track credits add to the value and the human connectivity factor which can be an issue for instrumental music.

Marc Bonilla, on the strength of this fun album, is a guitarist I will be exploring further and may I be so bold as to suggest you might want to as well.

Track Listings
1. Entrance
2. White Noise
3. Mannequin Highway
4. Commotion
5. Lycanthrope
6. Hit and Run
7. Afterburner
8. Hurling Blues Skyward
9. Antonio's Love Jungle
10. Razorback
11. Slaughter On Memory Lane
12. Exit

It really good, considering thats it's mainly just two gifted musicians in a living room:)