Finnish guitarist Granfelt has previously played in bands like Gringos Locos and more well-known English rockers Wishbone Ash. His solo albums have always been quite solid. Melodic Relief is in my opinion one of his most straight ahead easy-listenable efforts. It kicks off El Gringos Revenge which reminds a bit of Joe Satriani on Surfing With The Alien. The track just flows along displaying Ben’s great groovy playing, here exploiting his more melodic rock side of things. This is a track that would fit perfectly to a movie high-speed car chase. Oh Yeah! Continues the melodic journey, and solidifies the album title. GTR Tech brings on some cool retro sounds, but also guitar harmonies reminding me more of Wishbone Ash. The title of the album really makes sense as the songs are all very melodic, easy to grasp and easy to like as well. I’d call it mainstream, and that’s without being condescending, I say it as a compliment. These are songs that could easily be played on the radio or TV. The track where he really lets lose is the album closer, Because We Still Can, where Ben really lets his seventies freak flag fly with some cool Octavia soloing. It may not be the most musically challenging instrumental album, but this is a really enjoyable melodic guitar journey, I must say.
Janne Stark
Year: 2012
Country: Finland
Label: Sprucefield Oy
No comments:
Post a Comment
You're welcome to comment, but I reserve the right to remove any comments without notice.