Paganini, Marcello: B4 Ever Now

Using a mutual contact, French-Brazilian guitarist Marcello Paganini enlisted the help of renowned Pink Floyd vocalist Durga McBroom to create the four track EP B4 Ever Now. With Eumir Deodato helping out on keyboards on two of the pieces, the core band was rounded out by bassist Marc Madore and drummer Gary Husband.

Very much a free roaming fret spirit, Paganini’s style matches that of his vocal foil and yet as “Crying With A Smile� enigmatically slides into view, so the feel that the pair seem to be gently competing for space, rather than complimenting each other, often comes into play. McBroom is an imposing presence, adding a deep uncompromising swipe to the jazz rock fusion that is this EP’s foundation. She’s immense and yet at times the feel that things don’t quite lock into place is hard to shake off. It’s a stronger feature of “Last Bart To San Bruno�, where Paganini’s narrow guitar tone feels like a challenge to everything it touches, the singer and axe-man butting heads as structure is eschewed in place of freedom of spirit and ideal. The title track doesn’t fare much better, but with a more relaxed vibe, at least it doesn’t feel quite so much as though the core purpose is to constantly illustrate the range of abilities being employed. Although it isn’t much less of a trial unravelling what the true intent actually is.

With all due respect to the supreme talent of McBroom, by far the best piece is the instrumental “2012 Space Traffic Jam�, where a mid paced meander is punctuated by soaring guitar and bulging bass. It’s here that the real fret skill of the main man truly comes to the fore and it is no coincidence that it achieves this by following a much less scattergun approach. However, even here the sound is thin, jagged and slightly gnawing; an aspect that certainly colours every track on an EP that I must admit to having been somewhat perplexed by. The talent is plain to hear, but the engagement, for me at least, is decidedly elusive.

Track Listing
1. Crying with a Smile
2. Last Bart to San Bruno
3. B4ever Now
4. 2012 Space Traffic Jam

Added: June 7th 2018
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Marcelo Paganini @ CD Baby
Hits: 1175
Language: english

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