Sbar Noesis, The Rob - Wagon Wheels And Atom Bombs

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Aggregate Recordings
Catalog Number: n/a
Format: CD
Total Time: 43:37:00

In his liner notes, Rob Sbar says that what he delivers on this album is something that Wagner would've called "Gesamtkunstwerk," a total work of art. This all-around art experience in Sbar's case comprises written word, painting and, above all, music. Together with Matt Schaefer on bass and Erik Feder on percussion, he chooses the trio format and the eclectic format of fusion. The many different faces that make up the album's sleeve design will most certainly also be the many musical "faces" of Rob next to the diversity of his "arty" talent. On three tracks you can hear the Rob Sbar Large Jazz Ensemble as recorded somewhere in Philadelphia on November 20th 1996. Based on admiration and adoration for people as diverse as George Lucas, Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, Jean-Paul Sartre, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Nietzsche, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali but also John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, H?sker Dü, Bob Mould and even The Cure's Robert Smith, the weirdly entitled Wagon Wheels And Atom Bombs is indeed a true solo album in every sense of the word. Here Rob Sbar tackles everything that is important to him and if he had the means he would probably deliver his album personally to everyone ordering a copy simply to have the possibility to give some extra explanation along the way.

Sbar can be proud to have people like Schaefer and Feder who both seem to understand perfectly what our guitarist really aims for. Whether it's chaotic electric guitar or the more laid-back jazzy guitar all tangled into one such as in "Drowning In A Vacuum," Sbar knows precisely what he's doing. Art for art's sake all the way! In a way, his approach slightly reminds me of Keith More's (first Arena guitarist) debut solo album. However I sense a great deal of narcissism on this disc as well. On the first two pages of the CD booklet, Rob Sbar's name is printed no fewer than ... twenty times! OK, by now we certainly know who the "sick brain" behind this album is. "Diet Soda, Chinese Food And A Single Yellow Daisy" mainly has Rob "freaking" his way through a composition that luckily is held tight by the drum and bass department. Nevertheless it remains a nerve wrecking experience to say the least!

Tracklisting:
Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs (Introduction ? excerpt) (0:18) / Lexical Gap (4:21) / I Woke Up This Morning With This Human Skin On ? And I Can't Seem To Get It off (4:13) / 16 Shades Of Gray (4:30) / Drowning In A Vacuum (Of Barbed Wire Solitude) (5:41) / Media-Induced Paranoia (5:30) / Blue Harvest (7:28) / Diet Soda, Chinese Food And A Single Yellow Daisy (10:46) / Wagon Wheels And Atom Bombs (Reprise ? excerpt) (0:39)

Musicians:
Rob Sbar - guitars
Erik Feder - drums, percussion, glockenspiel, xylophone
Matt Schaefer - bass

Additional Contributors and Credits:

Tony Gairo - tenor sax, flute
Duane Eubanks - trumpet
Aino Soderhielm - alto sax
Laurie Nagle - alto sax
Bill Wenglicki - clarinet, baritone sax
Mark Shewchuk - drums
Andy Pfaff - bass
Daniel Mintseris - piano
Jason Elliott - tenor sax
Rob Mislivers - alto sax

Discography:
Wagon Wheels And Atom Bombs (2002)

Genre: Various Genres

Origin US

Added: October 5th 2003
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.rob-sbar.com
Hits: 1881
Language: english