Customer Reviews

Goodbye To Romance: Standards For A New Generation

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After playing in two of the biggest and most important metal bands (Testament and Savatage) in the world, Alex Skolnick decided it was time to move on and explore different musical textures. Alex has always been so much more than just a typical metal guitarist who can shred his heart out. Even when he was in Testament, one of the leading forces of thrash metal, his sense of melody made him stand out among any other guitar player in the genre. His bluesy and jazzy feel became an indispensable part of his musical vision and it was clear that he would have to move on to broaden his horizons.

I bought Goodbye to Romance as soon as it was released in 2002 through Alex's independet label Skol Productions and was greatly pleased when I saw he'd taken the time to sign the CD for me. Upon reading his message in the booklet, I was even more intrigued than before. This isn't just an average cover album of a once-metal guitarist. While Alex covers and pays tribute to lots of rock and metal classics of bands including KISS, Aerosmith, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, The Who and Black Sabbath, he also plays two of his own songs ("Skol Blues" and "Ofri"). Moreover the tunes sound nothing like the original versions, they are all re-worked and put into the framework of Alex's jazzy musical direction. The song patterns are quite different (and sometimes even more interesting) and rich with variety, melody and warmth.

This project took off the ground when Alex had a dream in which he heard a very beautiful melody and had to wake up. As he couldn't place the tune, he felt compelled to pick up his guitar and work it out, only to find the melody he'd heard was a jazzified version of Scorpions' "No One Like You" and the rest is history. He put together a great band employing two very talented young musicians: John Graham Davies (double bass) and Matt Zebroski (drums).

Miles Davis has always been a great influence on Alex's songwriting. This solo release also seems to follow the path opened up by Davis decades ago. The music here is unbelievably eclectic and borrows elements from rock, funk and blues. It's an amalgam of all of these textures centred around a strong jazzy background. It's very deeply constructed, yet it flows so naturally. The interplay between all the instruments gives the album its final shape.

The title Goodbye to Romance actually has a very special significance, because as we all know, the song "Goodbye to Romance" was a song on Ozzy's debut album with guitar god Randy Rhoads, who was one of Alex's idols and biggest influences. Back in the mid-90's Alex played with Ozzy for a handful of shows in England and felt deeply honoured about playing Randy's songs so when he decided to release his solo album he titled it after this tune. As stated in the booklet, it is commonly known that Randy was planning to eventually leave the band to pursue his classical music education, but was unable to due to his untimely passing. Alex, on the other hand, just like Randy, was bold enough to leave his rock stardom behind and went back to school for his music degree. Randy's spirit guided him through all the way.

This is one of my favourite instrumental albums ever and I wish Alex nothing but all the best in his future career. I know it must be hard to create something like this, but if he ever gets to put another solo album I'll be one of the first to buy it.

When I was a kid, I used to play my rock and roll music for my Dad. And he'd respond, "all these supposed songs sound alike. You need to listen to music like Wes Montgomery, George Gershwin and Pete Seeger in order to understand songwriting and musicianship."

Well, there isn't Pete Seeger on this album, but some stuff from my generation and my dad's world. The music from my generation are the great songs I tried to have my dad listen to. The playing on this album is exactly what my dad would have appreciated it.

The brilliance of Alex Skolnick and his trio is that they really are widely talented musicians who understand all generations of music, and they can find the musicality of rock & roll plus jazz.

Although there is no Pete Seeger musical styles on the Skol Trio's GOODBYE TO ROMANCE-STANDARDS FOR A NEW GENERATION, Mr. Skolnick and his trio accomplish the exact same mission that Seeger did with his career-- to unite people through music.

I recommend this album to music fans, musicians, and families all over the world.

I love both heavy metal and jazz, and I have been looking for a good confluence of the two. I've found some swingcore (Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Hipster Daddio & The Hand Grenades, Leslie Bell & The First Bang Band), but most of it never lived up to its potential. The Lukather/Carlton collaboration was good but also fell short, and Stanley Jordan's experiments were too tentative.

This, however, is terrific. Skolnick is a great guitar player with serious knoweldge of music theory. The arrangements are truly in the jazz idiom, with the requisite improvistational feel and the triad chord structure, but the melodies are metal all the way (if tamed a bit). I've been listening to this album a lot.

After hearing the same songs my entire life, I'm beginning to grow weary of hearing them. Now if I hear "Pinball Wizard" more than once every few months, I want to hit something. Maybe you are like that too. If, like me, you embrace covers and new spins on old classics, you're going to love this offering. The playing is solid: it doesn't feel forced or unnatural. Some covers which change genres tend to have this aura of either restraint (not wanting to butcher) or chaos (radically departing from the original). This album has neither.

Highly recommend it for those who love the classics. If you're more interested in Jazz and looking to branch out, it may not be as accessible. As for me, I sing/hum along with the playing and I find a renewed love for the originals. Thanks for reading.

Before hearing this album, I'm not sure that I would have believed that a jazz trio playing arrangements of some heavy metal classics could work very well (even led by a great guitarist like Alex Skolnick). But this album is absolutely brilliant. By building around the riffs from the original songs, the band was able to give the songs an unusual amount of structure and energy. The musicianship is stellar, and the recording is very good. My favorite track is War Pigs, but I have listened to this CD from start to finish many times!

Best of all, the sound and the songs work wonderfully in a live setting. I've seen the band play live twice, and both shows were great!

Not only has Mr. Skolnick created one of the most
groundbreaking and unique recording projects I've ever heard, but he has chosen timeless classics and brilliantly excuted them with the utmost artistic integrity. "Gooodbye To Romance" is so much more than just a great CD to me, it is the reflection of a "True" artists musical vision...
Thank you Alex!

Great new school jazz CD. A must for the true Testament fan, or Ozzy, or Kiss, or The Who, or Scorpions, or...

Got all 3 AST CDs after my wife got me Transformation for Christmas. I'm a fan of all jazz, but guitar especially and their own compositions are even better than the jazz interpretations of old rock classics.

Must have for any modern jazz guitar lover!

This is one incredible CD! And it definitely isn't your father's jazz! As Alex himself recently said, "...there goes the neighborhood!"

Alex, Matt, and John have taken these rock and metal 'standards' and made them sing - and swing - with sweet jazz harmonies that will knock you out. Two originals round out the CD with cool licks that will leave you anticipating their next release!

Get it, listen, enjoy it, and then have some more fun....invite your metalhead 30-something pals over and play it for them and ask them to name that tune! Then watch out as they bolt to your PC to order their own copies!

Want something even better?? Go see these cats LIVE!!!

I saw the trio perform live in Indy. IT WAS AWESOME... I remember Alex from back in the Testament days... It is great to see him doing something like this that he really loves. The show was great start to finish... A CD can never do justice to a live jazz concert... but this one is good. I got to hang out with Alex for a bit after the show. Truly an artist that appreciates his fans. I would highly recommend this treasure to jazz and metal fans alike.