Exceptional fretfire
N. Chandran | 11/10/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"i remember seeing prasanna in the late eighties and early nineties - when he used to play in the intercollege music competitions in chennai. even then i had noticed that his "touch" was extraordinary. the touch is what in my opinion seperates the greats from the others. clapton, hendrix, stevie ray, mclaughlin - they all have that special touch which gives them their mojo. prasanna too has that special touch.
having said that i have to admit that i was slighly disappointed when i first played the album. because having read in album jacket that this is intended as a tribute to hendrix, i excepted something - maybe something in line with that magnificent first album of jimi - that dreamy yet ferocious lead work. but that wasn't how EGL plays out.
but in itself this album with its unique mix of carnatic and rock/jazz is indeed a very interesting piece of work. the titles of the tracks are a bit cheesy though - c'mon "eruption in bangalore" ... ?
i was particularly delighted to hear the 'aadu paambey vilayaadu paambe' played as a riff in the 'snakebangers ball'. 'dark sundae ...' reminds us of the allman brothers 'whipping post' - though it is in a slower beat. some of the tracks have a rock feel to them while others are very carnatic in their sound and feel.
the marked carnatic influence sets prasanna apart from other jazz and guitar instrumentalists of today. it is definitely a delightful way to play the guitar. but i feel that the merging of blues/jazz/rock and carnatic has not been fully accompalished here - maybe in the years to come prasanna will do it.
recently on halloween day i saw '(dweezil) zappa plays zappa' concert in madison square garden in new york city. steve vai came in as a guest and totally ripped it up. in one instance he tried playing some carnatic but it was hardly at the level of prasanna. but it is interesting to see that prasanna is being heard ...
finally a word on his guitar tone - sounds seem a bit too bassy and the highs do not come out well. if the gibson les paul studio that prasanna plays, still sports the original humbuckers that came with it - the 490R and 498T - they could do with replacements."
Mind-Blowing Synthesis of Musical Styles
Matthew H Camp | Phoenix, AZ | 10/23/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"On previous albums 'Be the Change' and 'Peaceful,' Prasanna displayed his ability to play songs in a variety of rock, jazz, and traditional indian styles.
What sets this album apart? Here he shows that all these styles can be played SIMULTANEOUSLY. If his prior albums showed he could speak many musical languages, this one shows that he can integrate them into multi-lingual sentences - or even create new words.
The voice of his guitar effortlessly flows from a rock phrase to metal to bop to carnatic raga to funk to blues to odd times and syncopations. He can fill up the space completely or he can let each phrase breathe with its own life.
Definitely get this album. If you like the Indian flavor of this work, his prior albums "Ra Rama" and (my personal favorite) "Vibrant Aesthetics" will quickly become your favorite albums."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1