California Guitar Trio - The First Decade


Year of Release: 2003
Label: InsideOut
Catalog Number: IOMCD 129 SPV 085-65802
Format: CD
Total Time: 50:26:00

The First Decade is the California Guitar Trio?s album of collected works. For those of you that may have missed some highlights along the way this is a great CD to pick up. Is this a good representation of the first ten years of their career? This is not for me to say, as I have not been following their recorded output for that long. My introduction to their music came over the last few years. I have always enjoyed what they had to offer. I passed this CD on to several different people. No one had ever heard of the band before and they all loved this music. Now that alone was impressive. Think of The Ventures gone progressive and that is what this band sounds like quite often, with more of an acoustic principle.

I like this music because it is guitar based instrumental music with many different qualities featuring layers and dispositions contributed by each individual in the group. Their cultures and influences are broad and that is what makes their musical repertoire so diverse. Hideyo Moriya, Bert Lams and Paul Richards make up the trio. Many guests show up on their albums, which makes it even more interesting and entertaining. Tony Levin, the incredible bass player, is a regular in the studio and shows up on stage with them at times, including many other talented artists that accentuate the CGT sound on a regular basis.

Nineteen tracks is a lot of music and what makes it so enjoyable is that every song has something different to offer without compromising the band?s direction or sound. They are always true to themselves and their craft. Even with their original compositions, they tend sneak in a lick here and there from heavy weights like Led Zeppelin, which everyone does it so it is nothing new. See if you can find similarities to other bands yourself as you listen, I would be willing to bet you will catch a passage that you will recognize if you listen closely enough. This is what makes there music so intriguing and fun, it always keeps you guessing and wondering what could be coming next.

Also released by the now defunct InsideOut Music America label (IOMA 2061-2)


Tracklisting:
Yamanashi Blues (2:21) / Melrose Avenue (2:11) / Beeline (1:19) / Carnival (1:46) / Blockhead (2:16) / Kan-Non Power (3:16) / Train To Lamy Suite, Pts. 1- 3 (4:22) / Punta Patri (4:21) / Train To Lamy, Pt. 5 (2:03) / Above The Clouds (5:34) / Arroyo (3:39) / Pathways (4:29) / Great Divide (2:32) / Scramble (2:00) / Kaleidoscope (0:57) / Ananda (2:43) / Invitation (live) (2:44) / Happy Time Fun (live) (3:17) / Train To Lamy, Pt. 3 (Reprise) (1:16)

Musicians:
Paul Richards - guitar, slide guitar, e-bow, guitar loops
Bert Lams - guitar
Hideyo Moriya - guitar
Trey Gunn - guitar
Tony Levin - stick
Bill Janssen - saxophone
Roger Lambson Warr - saxophone

Discography:
The Robert Fripp String Quartet - The Bridge Between (1993)
Yamanashi Blues (1993)
Invitation (1995)
Pathways (1998)
An Opening Act: Live On Tour With King Crimson (1999)
Rocks The West (2000)
Monday Night In San Francisco (2000)
Live At The Key Club (2001)
CG3+2 (2002)
A Christmas Album (2002)
The First Decade (2003)
Whitewater (2004)
Echoes (2008)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: August 24th 2003
Reviewer: Keith "Muzikman" Hannaleck
Score:
Artist website: www.cgtrio.com
Hits: 2404
Language: english

  

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