Organic
author: Eli
Bill ....... Nice Guitar playing !!!!!!!!! : )
Eli / Stringss
Read more...
This rocks big time
author: Owy Thomas
This latest opus from Blairnt Central (aka Washington based guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bill Pitts) builds greatly on 2004's 'Knob Salad', and manages to make some further improvements in the process. The production (benefitting from superior mastering) is another step forward in terms of sound quality,and both the compositional skill and instrumentation have been carried along with it. The album benefits from a wider sounding instrumentation then previously; although my non-musician ears cannot always tell whether I'm hearing 'real' instruments or samples, the textures and juxtapositions presented produce a startlingly pleasing result. Proceedings never stray too far from Bill's guitar though, and he turns in some wonderful performances here.
Musical comparisions which spring to mind after several listens include: opener 'Am' sets a scene which brings to mind neo-progsters such as Spock's Beard or the Flower Kings; 'Alternative Agenda' brings to mind Oingo Boingo/Danny Elfman, whilst 'March of the Neocons' sounds almost like a glorious marriage between Frank Zappa and Black Sabbath.
There's even (as with the last album) one track featuring Bill on lead vocals, and making a damn fine job of it too, producing a pleasing melodic blues tinged earthy rasp reminiscent (at least to my ears) of Widespread Panic's John Bell. Personal favourite would be 'Freedom Is Beautiful'- this composition unfolds in layers, like the petals of a flower opening- perhaps representative of the flowering of freedom (whether seen as political or spiritual).
If this is what Blairnt Central sounds like from a 'bedroom' setup, (and consisting basically of a set of high quality demos), I'd surely love to hear what he would be able to produce given some major studio facility. This rocks big time.
Owy Thomas
Crowland, England January 2007
Read more...