Customer Reviews

Tony Macalpine Collection: The Shrapnel Years

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Having had the pleasure of seeing MacAlpine live a couple of times I can assure you that he is maybe even more impressive live than you can hope to ascertain from these compositions. Truly an amazing talent, when I saw him play with Planet X in Adelaide, Australia, he not only blew myself and others at my table away but joined the rest of the band for an impromptue signing session afterwards where he was relaxed and genuine. Top marks.

As to the album, well it's gotta be said right at the start that instrumental music is always going to have issues when up against vocals albums but conversely this is an instrumental album that like Akira Takasakis' Wa release is a disc that I do actually throw on more often than a lot of my 'vocals' albums.

With liner notes from Tony himself which are a tad perfunctory, this release catches a number of gymnastic axe attacks that the imaginary Dethklok guitarist Skwisgar Skwigelf would turn green with envy over! There is the precision of Malmsteen played at more human registers as per Satriani with a dash of the experimentalism of Vai for a very well balanced catalogue of tunes. Personal faves for me would have to be Wheel of Fortune (brilliantly covered by Hungarian guitar maestro Tamas Szekeres) and The Sage where our main man really shows his stuff with some mind bending playing and composition.

In the normal universe of hard rock and metal this album is pretty much a four star release as without vocals this sort of stuff will always be an acquired taste. But in the realms of shred instrumentals this is a full five star deluxe album, vastly superior to most of it's competitors of which there are surprisingly many vying for your dollar. Don't be fooed by cheap imitations - get the good oil people....

For years Tony Macalpine has been pleasing his dedicated fans release after release. Everything from his solo career to the highly acclaimed CAB & his time with Planet X it seems there is'nt anything Mr. Macalpine can't do.
If your unfamiliar with his work this showcases his entire solo career , a true gem for a greatest hit release