Klock Group, Marc - Tentacle Dreams


Year of Release: 2004
Label: Fusion Studio Recordings
Catalog Number: FSR11103
Format: CD
Total Time: 60:35:00

Backed by amongst others the extremely talented bass player Phil Chen and the incredible sounds of ex-Mahavishnu Orchestra and Dixie Dregs violinist Jerry Goodman, to name but two, guitarist Mark Clock most certainly can place a very big smile on his face. Delivering eleven Marc Klock originals, Tentacle Dreams is indeed as its name says, having its multiple sounds surround you as if they were indeed the tentacles of the Klock beast. So for fusion enthusiasts this might well come as a very interesting surprise indeed!

Whilst with a title like "Mummy Dearest" I thought this would be a tribute for Marc's mum, the moment you absorb these eastern sounds, it becomes clear the "mummy" here is from Egyptian origin, getting "unwrapped" as the music evolves! Adding an extra keyboard player in the line-up, one can be frightened that this could mortgage the sound of the guitar, but Ed Roth makes sure his interventions are not upfront in the mix and will most certainly not drown any of the other instruments. I like the way he uses the electric piano in the opening section of the album's title track, making way for Phil's bass, which then opens for some shredding by Marc, which in turn opens the way for Jerry Goodman. It's as if layer upon layer of music is being built in order to result into a goodie-bag full of musical magic. The song ends with some solitary drum work by Jimmy Paxman, Jr., fusing neatly into "Vibe," sporting some lovely acoustic guitars next to the immortal violin of Goodman.

In "Chromophobe" that electric piano is present in a more profound way, taking turns with Marc's howling guitar outbursts. A very powerful and rocking track indeed, as is "Dig," which has Jerry's violin sound almost like a mouth-organ here. With the Latin-flavoured "Get Up," we are on a ride towards Santana land or early solo Al Di Meola. If only more percussion was added, together with some impressive horn sections, which could easily replace those tame synth sounds which sadly do not sound right here. I think the word "socca fusion" could be the most appropriate definition for this one. "On Second Thought" has exactly the same Al Di Meola feel, once again fuelled by Ed's electric piano. The album closes with what is probably the most aggressive composition on the album. "Back From Mars" (the only co-written track written here with drummer Jimmy Paxson) brings heavy drumming to the fore, accompanied by weird guitar sounds, almost resulting in free jazz chaos.

Contrary to what you might think Tentacle Dreams is not all about guitar, guitar and even more guitar. Instead, Marc Klock places himself into the foreground as the composer of this music sharing his place as a guitarist with the other musicians in the band. So the result becomes equally divided between the instruments, maybe with a little emphasis on the guitar, but most certainly giving every single instrument enough room to shine and experiment in its own right. It most certainly has become a very varied whole with different textures of the musical scope tackled, yet I'm convinced this will probably sound ace when given the opportunity to be performed live. In the meantime Marc has begun pre-production on his next project and I only can hope that he uses the same musicians.


Tracklisting:
Kaos (3:22) / Mummy Dearest (5:36) / Tentacle Dreams (7:41) / Vibe (6:51) / Swingin' (5:17) / Chromophobe (8:09) / Dig (2:35) / Get Up (6:12) / On Second Thought (5:46) / Peace At Sea (3:27) / Back From Mars (7:38)

Musicians:
Marc Klock - guitars
Phil Chen - bass
Jerry Goodman - electric violin
Jimmy Paxman Jr. - drums, percussion
Ed Roth - keys

Guest:

David Through - horn

Discography:
Tentacle Dreams (2004)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin US

Added: August 1st 2004
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.marcklock.com
Hits: 2432
Language: english

  

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