To get an idea of where this music comes from, it helps to have an introduction to Jim Davies, a man who regularly adorns the front of specialist guitar magazines. As well as his later work with punk industrialists Pitchshifter, he helped define the cross over dance/rock sound of The Prodigy, playing not only live, but recording the riffs for tracks like ‘Firestarter’ on that band’s massive hit album ‘Fat of the Land.’
It is from that background that this album comes, proudly declaring that with the exception of drums and bass, all sounds on the CD come from the guitar. Every track on the album showcases the incredible skills that Jim Davies has, putting him at least on a par with the likes of Steve Vai where it comes to technical wizardry. Every trick is pulled out of the hat, from howling sustain to high speed hammering on the fret board, six strings being manipulated to sound like a host of synthesizers.
Herein lays the problem with my enjoyment of the album. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy instrumental works; Capricorns’ ‘River, bear your bones’ is one of the most exciting albums I’ve been given to review, and it still manages to force itself onto my stereo amongst the thousands of CDs that litter my house. However, ‘Electronic Guitar’ sounds just so technically perfect that it’s easy to forget that it’s a master guitarist displaying his virtuosity, and think of it as a synthesized collection of themes to games and films: ‘How We Roll’ could be a perfect background for pixilated demons to be gunned down on the latest gaming platform; ‘Rubicon’ could easily play over the credits of a massive space opera; whilst ‘Hot Shot’ would be ideal backing for Wesley Snipe’s Blade to lay waste to another nest of ninja trained vampires.
The versatility of Jim Davies’ playing is shown in the likes of ‘Last Laugh’ with its gothic jangle, and the 70’s funky guitar of ‘Hide the Effects’, an all too short journey into the world of Shaft and Starsky and Hutch, were effects are less predominant, and the guitar sound is stripped back and dirty. The final track, ‘Rockers vs Ravers’ demonstrates how much influence guitars played on the Prodigy. With its hypnotic heavy dance riff, all it needs is the mocking snarl of Keith Flint to fire in to make this a dance anthem of epic proportions.
With my ham fisted guitar fumbling of yesteryear, it’s impossible for me not to be in awe of the skills displayed on this album. However, each track just made me think of something else, and the clinical techno execution really puts it well beyond the realms of metal. This really should find its home with the connoisseur of the guitar, and could well see itself being played in dance clubs.
http://www.myspace.com/jimdaviesmusic
http://www.mascotrecords.com
