Search - Johnny Hiland :: Johnny Hiland

A Guitar Player's Player

political idiot | california | 08/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johnny Hiland's debut is like a swift kick to the groin to what has become a rather mundane year for music this 2004. It has become a rule of thumb that to be just a straight guitar player anymore is just not good enough -unless, of course, you are an extraordinary player. Why incredible player/singers like Monte Montgomery go relatively un-noticed is beyond me. However, when is comes to an all instrumental release well, the bar is set just that much higher. Johnny Hiland is a six string slinger to be reckoned with.



This is an excellent collection of instrumentals with top notch musicianship from all. Song selection is most interesting as it offers the listener a great variety of styles ranging from hot chicken pickin' to metal ballads and everything in between. Hiland plays well beyond his years and demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of classic Telecaster licks and creative rock lines --an excellent dicotomy all on one great album. Billy Sheehan and Pat Torpy may seem like an odd fit but they are solid here with the very creative Sheehan is always an interesting listen.



Hiland is a great artist and this is an excellent release. This ain't morning zoo Cross and Lopez teeny bopper dreck. Highly recommended, super-charged guitar music."

Wowwww !

I. J. Sloan | Rossendale, Lancs United Kingdom | 09/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, this CD has just arrived, and is playing now ... and I dont expect to stop playing it until ... oh, about Christmas, at the earliest !



Whilst everyone was raving about JH's (no, not THAT JH) range of styles, I am glad to say that this is not an cornucopia of styles, where you end up thinking "well I like the rock number, but that blues track needs missing out " ..... but a collection of 12 country flavoured, jazzy, finger and chickn' pickn' tracks which flow together perfectly, and if that is a style you like, then you will love all 12 tracks here, that is a certainty.



bits of Steve Morse picking pieces, such as "General Lee"; Danny Gatton, a bit of Michael Lee Firkins, and I am sure many other great players that I have not heard of, come together to make this a great and fun CD.



Well played, old chap .. you see, even us English can appreciate what is a very American style of music. When it is this good, you just cannot keep it to yourselves !"

Beauty in Diversity

Michael Moreno | College Station, TX | 02/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The basic argument against giving this effort five stars is that the album doesn't flow because of the diversity of musical styles that are presented. Some reviewers have expressed that in effect, Johnny is not being true to himself or is still searching for his identity. These reviewers know of Johnny as a country player and have expressed a desire for him to live up to the expectations that country guitar fans have set for him. However, Johnny is first and foremost a guitar player. He appreciates good guitarists regardless of style and developed his versatile style quite deliberately. He credits everyone from Danny Gatton to Eddie Van Halen as having a profound influence on his development as a musician. Don't be confused, he's not trying to prove anything with this album. If you don't appreciate good guitar playing in general, i.e. if you only like country guitar, don't buy this album - in fact, you may want to avoid any of his future albums as well. Johnny is a guitar player's, guitar player. His music is a sophisticated fusion of virtuoso influences from many genres. And, while there are many styles presented here, Johnny's personality is distinctly evident on every piece. Thus, this album is likely an excellent representation of the "real" Johnny Hiland. Moreover this album is an absolute must have for any serious guitar player or audiophile."