Pennsylvania-based guitarist and bassist Rod DeGeorge opens Cosmic Playground not with a blast from one of those instruments, but with the sound of a violin. From there, DeGeorge's furious riffing collides with a wall of orchestral sounds created by DeGeorge and keyboardist Marty Mellinger to deliver an effect similar to that of Metallica's S&M. The symphonic swirls continue, especially on "Mr E. Train," a massive song that makes it easy to imagine Dennis DeYoung singing, and you can almost hear lyrics on the ballad "Reflections." Elsewhere, "State of Flux" indulges DeGeorge's fusion fancy, and a world-music element on "Hungarian Foothills" segues to a war march and a violent battle between DeGeorge's guitar and Mellinger's orchestration.
It's difficult to imagine what Cosmic Playground — written, arranged, produced, engineered and mixed by the man whose name appears on the cover — would have sounded like without Mellinger and drummer Tony Mora. Together, with guest bassists and additional programming, DeGeorge's ensemble creates a full-sounding, song-oriented guitar-rock record that's crisp and clean. Somebody get this guy a singer...
Track Listing:
1) Dance of the Dragonfly
2) Cosmic Playground
3) Mr. E. Train
4) Reflections
5) Hyperspace Cowboy
6) Hungarian Foothills
7) Techno Difficulties
8) Dawn
9) Morning Sun
10) Rondo Alla Turca
11) State of Flux
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