Christopher Ruel's Music Reviews Web Page

The content of the reviews contained within this web page are the subjective personal opinions of the author(s) based on the personal preferences of the author(s). Although these opinions may be based upon some technical criteria, the reviews should not be interpreted to be factual assertions by the author(s). Musical opinions and preferences vary from person to person, and the opinions and preferences presented in these reviews may differ with those of other music critics, fans, or listeners. The opinions asserted in these reviews are protected under the US Constitution's First Ammendment (Article I from the "Bill Of Rights") that protects the freedom of speech and all related liability is disclaimed.

Several of my friends are professional musicians with whom I have studied guitar. Part of this education has been the exchange of musical influences. Even after I have left the regions where these friends lived, we have kept in touch and continue to exchange our opinions on the latest musical releases. In the process of exchanging these opinions, I have compiled reviews of recent CDs and sent these out in e-mails to my former mentors to keep them abreast of the new releases that I have prospected. Several of these mentors have commented on the quality of these reviews and have suggested that I post them on the internet for others to view so that they may get an idea of what content is contained on the CDs I have reviewed.

OK. This is really how it started out. But, now I have been solicited by several online music magazines and retailers to publish my reviews on their websites. Since this has happened, I have made a larger effort with my reviews to be more comprehensive in their scope and to be responsible in their coverage. An unintended consequence of reviewing CDs for online magazines and retailers is that I have had to write reviews for some CDs that I really didn't like enough that I would want to write about them. So, though it is not my personal desire to be a nay-sayer or to put down anybody's attempt at creating good music, I have at this point had to write reviews that are critical of some efforts to be honest to the readers of the reviews, though I have tried desparately to weasel my way out of reviews that I didn't think were going to be positive. But, I offer my profuse apologies to those that feel they have been slighted by my reviews and offer them the consolation that my reviews are measured against a specific, strict criteria that constitutes the aspects of music that are important to ME. And, though their reviews may not measure up to my criteria, this is not to say that their music is not good and that somebody might not like it. So, please!!!... no hate mail and don't rev your engine as I begin to cross a street with my poor dog Sugar by my side!!!

Just to put these reviews into some frame of reference, I'd like to lay out the criteria that I am measuring the music against. Firstly, for the CD to even be considered, the playing must be above the threshold that merits candidacy for the virtuoso arena. No posers will be tolerated. With that prerequisite as a baseline, I am next looking for the following qualities in the music: solid compositional content, originality, melody, thematic development, harmony, structure, mastery of technique, changes in tempo and meters, coherent use of different time signatures (we don't like contrived technicality for the purpose of showing off), unexpected changes in key and direction to keep our short attention spans involved, good tone, good feel, good direction, continuity, balance in dynamics, smoothness, and seamlessness. Other admirable qualities beyond these, such as expansion of guitar technique and improvisational mastery receive bonus points. Qualities that I do not like to see are: aimless speed with no direction, unclear tone, sloppiness in delivery, monotony or repetition in the underlying progressions, melody or leadwork, and absense of uniqueness altogether (clones do not bring anything of value to us). I am not so interested in solely technical proficiency, as I am in applied technical proficiency that creates good music that is enjoyable to listen to over and over again. Those technicians that lack musical vision will be shunned in favor of the "artists" who posess musical vision. So, though some guitarists may have a great command over the guitar and should be acknowledged for that, this is not what I am interested in here. The technique must be a given and the musical content must transcend the technique.

The ranks of artists that embrace the qualities described above include the likes of...

Jazz Greats: Django Reinhardt, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie "Bird" Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Thelonius Monk, Wynton Marsalis, etc.

Fusion Greats: Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Pat Metheney, John Scofield, Al Di Meola, Mike Stern, Stanley Clarke, Scott Henderson, Greg Howe, etc.

Blues Greats: BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, Albert King, Lonnie Mack, Eric Clapton, etc.

Progressive Greats: Duane Allman, Steve Morse, Joel Hoekstra, Brett Garsed, TJ Helmerich, Wolfgang Zenk, etc.

Neoclassical Greats: Yngwie Malmsteen, Vinnie Moore, Tony MacAlpine, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Vitalij Kuprij, Uli Jon Roth, etc.

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