Friedman, Marty - Loudspeaker

Year of Release: 2006
Label: Mascot Records
Catalog Number: M 7203 2
Format: CD
Total Time: 47:15:00

What punk was to songwriting, Loudspeaker is to guitar players all around the world. As the name implies, it's all about amplified guitar fireworks here and you can count yourself lucky if your speakers are still in good shape after this selection of heavy guitar driven rock has left your hifi. There's several Japanese musicians contributing to this album, but that's mainly because Marty Friedman currently resides in Tokyo. In fact this album has already been released in Japan, where it entered the charts at number twenty and sold out on the first day of release! That first release was limited to 10,000 copies, which included a vocal version of "Static Rain" later replaced by an instrumental version of the track, which you can also find here. When we go back in time we do remember that a lot of hard rock bands were megastars in Japan first where they also recorded live albums. Think of Deep Purple and Cheap Trick, to name but two. In fact when Deep Purple had lost Blackmore for the umpteenth time, they did some dates with Joe Satriani replacing Ritchie simply because Satriani was already a big name in the land of the rising sun.

The album opener "Elixir" already illustrates what will be high on the cards on this album, [that] being loud and fierce guitars and rhythms which even tend to lean towards old school punk. The intro for "Street Demon" even sounds a little like a speeded up version of the Sex Pistols' "God Save The Queen." Whilst the drums deliver a tribal rhythm, Marty's guitar contains some Arabian flavour during "Paradise Express." Having sold in excess of 10 million albums as a member of Megadeth, Marty Friedman most definitely wanted a true rock album, a very loud and aggressive album where he nevertheless could also introduce some nice melodies. The Japanese entitled "Sekai Ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana" is an excellent example of this. Maybe "Glycerine Flesh" is even more melodic, introducing a glance of country along the way, too. Here Marty also plays the bass whilst Jens Johanssen guests on keyboards. The trio of Friedman/Colson/Masaki work together as a power trio on the fierce "Stigmata Addiction," where Marty illustrates his outstanding technique during another blistering solo.

On "Viper" none other than Steve Vai adds to the magic resulting in some experimental sounds as well as powerful duels. Previously "Black Orchid" already featured Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci who gets a full 52 seconds to do his own thing (the timing is meticulously noted in the booklet). One of the weirdest tracks on this album has to be "Coloreas Mi Vida," not only because it's the only one including (a little bit of) vocals but also because none other than ex-Japan bass player Mick Karn is helping out. After all, Mick Karn is not exactly the kind of guy one would associate with Marty Friedman, is he? The song itself however is very melodic leaning towards Santana, if you like, yet without the typical Carlos trademark of course. The closing track "Devil Take Tomorrow" contains a wonderful string arrangement in order to end this album with a powerful, majestic tune which to me is the standout track on this album.

With the main ingredient being hard edged powerful fast rock songs, Loudspeaker does also contain it's fair share of nice melodies, something Marty Friedman is well known for. Marty Friedman also is a member of the jury for Uta Sta which is the Japanese version of American Idol. He is currently preparing for a televised performance of his music with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. No doubt these classical musicians will be in for a surprise once they encounter this axeman as will you when you let the music from this new album float out of your ? loudspeakers!

Japanese edition released by Avex Trax (AVCD-17958)

Tracklisting:
Elixir / Street Demon (Santa Rosa Wrecking Crew Mix) / Black Orchid / Paradise Express / Sekai Ni Hitotsu Dake No Hana / Glycerine Flesh / Stigmata Addiction / Viper / Coloreas Mi Vida / Devil Take Tomorrow / Static Rain

Musicians:
Marty Friedman - guitars, bass
Ryuichi Nishida - drums
Billy Sheehan - bass
Masaki - bass
Jeremy Colson - drums
Tetsu Mukaiyama - drums
Mick Karn - bass
Ikuo - bass

Guests:

John Petrucci - guitar
Steve Vai - guitar
Jens Johanssen - keyboards

Discography:
Hawaii - Made In Hawaii (ep) (1983) (then known as Vixen)
Hawaii - One Nation Underground (1983)
Hawaii - Loud, Wild And Heavy (ep) (1984)
Hawaii - The Natives Are Restless (1985)
Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony (1987)
Cacophony - Go Off! (1988)
Dragon's Kiss (1988)
Megadeth - Rust In Peace (1990)
Megadeth - Countdown To Extinction (1992)
Scenes (1992)
Megadeth - Youthanasia (1994)
Megadeth - Hidden Treasures (ep) (1995)
Introduction (1995)
True Obsessions (1996)
Megadeth - Cryptic Writings (1997)
Megadeth - Cryptic Sounds - No Voices In Your Head (ep) (1998)
Megadeth - Risk (1999)
Music For Speeding (2002)
Loudspeaker (2006)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: August 27th 2006
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.martyfriedman.com
Hits: 2806
Language: english