MUST HAVE - Simply Outstanding
I started on guitar in 1972 at the age of 11. I have not put it down since. Back then you got your chops on your own; by listening to records, lifting riffs, jamming constantly with older, more mature and hopefully better musicians, and enduring a lot of abuse from the same older, more mature, and hopefully better musicians for the privilege of watching them up close, or even sitting in every so often when they felt magnanimous. Mastering a new lick, or coming up with a new original short burst of a riff was a wet dream. There were no instructional tapes, CD's, DVD's and certainly no free internet lessons. If you were lucky and could afford a teacher, you learned what HE wanted you to learn, not what was floating on the airwaves. Eventually you found your own voice, style and tone, and maybe, just maybe you began to aspire to something more, venturing into the world of professional performance.
I opted out of the professional performer bit in my late 20's, after close to 2...
SUPREME GUITAR MADNESS! GREAT
Great DVD, GREAT SOUND, GREAT BAND, weird surroundings/small audience, DVD 5.1 audio by Steven Wilson!
This is quite a massive dose of instrumental madness. The sound is spectacular. The picture is great but don't expect concert-style lighting as there is none. It is similar to the visual feel of Greg Koch's "Guitar Gristle DVD". In some ways it's good, because it's bright and you can see the performances well. Camera work is very good. Govan is a little Vai, a little Holdsworth, a little Beck, a little of everything,-even country! He could be accused of over-playing at times but this is just a ridiculous demonstration of chops by all three musicians.
I was initially dissappointed by the "interviews" from the bonus section, but others may find it to be a unique approach. They are more along the lines of instructional/informational segments pertaining to the songs construction.(Basically a glimpse into how they work which is a new twist) I would rather have seen some...
A great watch, or two.
First off The Aristocrats are an acquired taste, meaning not for everyone. Definitely not for the faint of heart, for music majors only. Much like Animals As Leaders, Liquid Tension Experiment etc. This is all music, lots of good technical stuff, slow songs, and just a wide variation of all type of music. Jazz, metal, rock, swing, blues, you name it. It's not a DVD you'll watch then repeat, watch again then repeat, maybe one song, but this is just over two hours of nonstop music. No vocals kids. ;o) I think it's great, but after about an hour, i had to take a break. Then watch the rest. So yes it's intense, is that bad? Nope, it is what it is. For major music lovers only. Also i might add it's not HD but the sound is incredible, it's a very small room, venue.
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