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Grubbs; Todd: Return Of The Worm
 Todd Grubbs is a virtuoso guitar player who thankfully understands that to make anyone outside of shredding circles vaguely interested in listening to his fret fireworks, they need a certain thing called songs. On Return Of The Worm, Grubbs has songs and then some! Pleasingly the other trait that Todd has that so many guitarists in this genre struggle with is a little bit of eclecticism meaning that while yes all the songs are at points a showcase for his stunning skills, the changing moods and themes actually make for an interesting journey. It isn't all plain sailing though, with two main niggles coming my way as I listened to ROTW, firstly Grubbs has a penchant for making his songs just a little longer than they really need to be and secondly the spoken word, answer machine and dog barking, among many other samples actually slow the songs up. They do make for interesting little focal points on the first few listens, but listening to an automated voice continually recite number on the admittedly aptly titled "Number Station" does eventually become infuriating and over shadows the tasteful jazzy solo that it jostles with.
So with the different styles on show, what do you actually get? Well a whistle stop tour through this album reveals the singing harmonies that remind of Satriani on "You Can Do It", the rock and roll thump of "6/9/93", a touch of the Gilmour's on "The Message", while "Skinny Elephant" sings like Vai and "I Am Not A Commentator" adds a little funk to proceedings before adding a beautiful soaring solo. Grubbs can't be faulted and with impressive backing from the likes of John Wesley (Porcupine Tree – live band), Blues Saraceno (solo & Poison) and Mike Keneally there is much in the way of excellent musicianship to savour.
Return Of The Worm is a fine album with great playing and cracking songs. Now if only Todd would ditch those damn samples!
Track Listing
1. 5 After 4 In The Morning
2. I Am Not A Commentator
3. The Message
4. Number Station
5. 6/9/93
6. You Can Do It
7. Skinny Elephant
8. Prepare To Drive
9. Bartok
10. Frogs
11. Space Walk
Added: October 26th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:  
Related Link: Todd Grubbs
Hits: 2229
Language: english
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Grubbs; Todd: Return Of The Worm
Posted by Jeff B, SoT Staff Writer on 2011-10-26 13:33:25
My Score:
Return of the Worm is the fifth album from seasoned instrumental guitar virtuoso Todd Grubbs, and it also served as my introduction to this American musician. Rather than succumbing to the typical shred-guitarist mold that puts technical abilities above actual songwriting, Return of the Worm contains quality compositions through and through as well as some highly impressive musicianship. Todd Grubbs is an extremely gifted musician, and even though annoying samples and a lack of killer tunes get in the way of my enjoyment, this is a very fun album that instrumental rock fans should get a kick out of.
The music here is a mix of hard rock, jazz fusion, and funk, obviously focused around Todd Grubbs's terrific lead guitar playing. The man is simply an expert at his instrument, and it's a safe bet to say that he's one of the best rock guitarists on the scene right now. His ability not only as a shredder, but also as a tasteful fusion player makes his style on Return of the Worm highly impressive. The songwriting, despite encompassing a wide variety of genres, feels a bit too one-dimensional for my taste. It's still undoubtedly well-written, but the frequent sampled portions detract from my enjoyment at times and I also think a few of the songs lack a whole lot in the way of memorability.
Although Return of the Worm may not be the most memorable instrumental guitar rock album out there, it's a very dependable release from one of the most gifted musicians in the scene. This is a strongly recommended purchase for fans of guitar-rock albums, and as such deserves 3 stars. Return of the Worm won't set the world on fire with its stunning songwriting or original approach, but it's an enjoyable listen for sure.
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