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It’s always great to share great music. Its even greater to share great guitar music. I am excited to share another great album from the guitar wizard, Oz Noy. This time Twisted Blues Volume 2. I wrote about Twisted Blues Vol.1 in a previous post, and this, his follow up album delivers all the guitar greatness that we found in the first, but bumps everything up to the proverbial “11″ in every sense of the word.
On this blog I often review products that deliver “cool” tones. In this context, hidden in the definition of the word “cool” are the words “useful” and “practical” and most important of all “musical”. A pedal that affects your tone is not exactly a good product for you to use if it does not in some way enhance the musicality of the performance or recording. Oz Noy is probably one of the most able guitarists in this respect. Not just a brilliant musician for his guitar skills which are virtuosic, but for his compositions and for his use of all of the toys we love (pedals) in about the most musical way imaginable.
The album “Twisted Blues” runs the gamut through all guitar-centric, blues-inflected grooves over which we, as guitarists, would feel warm and fuzzy feelings of comfort and familiarity. Oz takes us on this journey with a “twist” that pushes the musical boundaries by affecting the grooves and progressions just enough to peak your musical curiosity. You will find yourself discovering and learning new things each time you listen!
I could go through each track and describe Oz’s seamless use of guitar effects. I could certainly write about the variety of tones that OZ conjures up to mirror the feel and vibe of each tune in the most musical way. There is much to talk about the harmony Oz injects into the releases or bridges of his tunes to take you on a detour which will eventually lead deceptively back to the original groove, leaving you with even more enthusiasm than before. There are blistering guitar solos that melodically marry the traditional with the contemporary without leaving you behind. I could also expand on his ballad writing which, as a song starts, evokes much of the vibes and feelings of the old soul songs of the 70′s, (there is something vaguely familiar; you almost expect the high falsettos to kick in with a vocal melody). I could list the A-Team of players on the album too…yes let’s do that:
Keith Carlock, Will Lee, John Medeski, Dave Weckl Jerry Z, Chick Corea, Chris Layton, Roscoe Beck, Reese Wynans, Gregoire Maret, Lew Soloff, Giulio Carmassi, Anton Fig, Eric Johnson.
But for the rest of it, maybe I will just let you go out and buy the album and listen for yourself and let me know what you think. Oz is a great player but whats more, he is a great musician, writer and technician. Twisted Blues says it all…and…He does it all in just 10 tightly wrapped tunes:)
Below is a link to his website and a promo vid for the album. Oz Noy’s Twisted Blues Vol 2: A guitar lover’s heavenly audio.
