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It's all too
often that a new guitar talent goes unnoticed these days, so hopefully
this review will help rectify the situation for at least one of those
forgotten few.
Dean McGinnes is
a Scottish guitar wiz and that is under statement. ‘The Journey of
Life’ is his self-financed debut release which highlights the wealth of
talent that this young guitar player has. The album itself mixes
Dean’s influences from the hard edged rock work to the more progressive
and all genres in between, from the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd
to Dream Theater’s John Petrucci, such is the mixture of vibes to be found
on the album.
Things get
underway with the rockier side of Deans repertoire with the hard hitting
balls to wall ‘Going Nowhere’. This is a great way to get things
started with the hard rock and blues twin guitar styles complimenting each
other to great effect. Anyone can pick up an acoustic guitar and
strum away on it, but to pick up an electric guitar and make is sing is a
talent very few people master, but Dean is such a talent.
Things continue
with ‘New Start’, a more refined and mellower affair and a long way from
the opener. This gentle more melodic track shows both the difference
and aptitude McGinnes has for the varying rock genres. The same
melodic richness is continued with the next song ‘Mountains Of Echo’.
Once again McGinnes sows the seeds with a gentle beginning which then
builds from these humble beginnings into soaring mix of keyboards and
guitar which reminds me very much of something you heard in the background
of a Spaghetti Western.
‘Hypnotized’ is
a short yet simplistic piece that takes the album to a higher plain and
acts as buffer between tracks. It's also a sort of intro into the
next track, the soar away ‘The Journey Man Ryan Carroll’ which Dean wrote
for his guitar tutor Ryan Carroll.
The track of the
album for me is the superb ‘Get Up And Go', which for me couldn’t have
been called anything else, this is without a doubt McGinnnes’s finest
track so far with its driving guitars and heady bass lines, great stuff!.
‘2ism’ sees
another change in styles as McGinnes brings in keyboardist Adam Aitken to
add a little atmospherics to his soaring guitars, which was written by the
two after watching the film ‘Heat’, the two were inspired to write a
powerful yet soulful song.
The same
atmospheric tones are continued with the epic tones of ‘The End is Near’,
a track that for me brings into the mix McGinnes’s love for Dream Theater
and John Petrucci’s style of flawless guitar playing.
The next track
is one of two parts ‘The Journey of Life Part 1’ is a deep and moving
piece that reflects the mood of McGinnes at the time of writing this one.
I said this was a two part piece the second part ‘The Journey of Life Part
2’ is next and takes you further along the path of life and brings things
full circle and with the added acoustic solo of David Stewart, this like
part one is a very moving piece.
The album closes
with the bonus track ‘Alone’ another soul searching piece that closes a
very impressive solo debut. I’ve heard quite a few guitar albums
over the years from some very prominent artists, but this album rates well
above a lot of those and is worthy of at least a record deal. |
