God damn, Greg Howe is a Motherf%&ker of a monster player! This guy has not disappointed since the mid '80's and the PA native's new CD Sound Proof on Mike Varney, the Shrapnel Record guru's new offshoot label, Tone Center, is just a blazer of a Heavy Fusion record. 14 tracks (including a few comic gems thrown in for good measure) of sheer guitar shredding goodness, Greg Howe is just simply at the head of the class in the Heavy Fusion/Rock genre. If you dig rockin' fusion that is guitar based and well performed, this is a no brainer!
Rounding out Howe's band for Sound Proof are Jon Reshard on bass, Gianluca Palmieri on drums and David Cook on keyboards and man, these guys can play! Sound Proof is full of some super tasty instrumental Fusion tunes, featuring a really cool cover of the Rufus/Chaka Khan '70's Funk classic, "Tell Me Some thing Good". Howe funks his way through the classic with some fast and furious runs & nice wah wah usage. There are so many highlights on Sound Proof that you really can't go wrong. CD lead track, "Emergency Exit" sets the table with some high level intensity riffage that is quite simply awe inspiring, right across the board. It's a great showcase of the talents of the players on the CD, and this is the 1st song!! Greg Howe just simply goes crazy and you can really hear the fun these guys were having making this. Picture Jeff Beck's Wired era meets Steve Vai's Passion & Warfare era over- the -top-ness. Just amazing! On the 7:31 minute mark on the first track on this 56 plus minute CD, every musician gets to spread his wings and spread they do!
Check out the silky smooth coolness of "Walkie Talkie" with Howe's sultry touch or the acoustic beauty of "Sunset in El Paso" that shows a lighter side & sensibility of the speed maven. The title track, "Sound Proof", features a nasty bass solo from Jon Reshard and then Howe steps up to the plate to knock it out of the park with another legato & bend filled snappy tour de force type of solo. This CD is just chock filled with stellar performances that it is hard to find fault with any of the songs or playing involved with it. It's THAT enjoyable!
Produced by Greg Howe himself, Sound Proof is sonically as good as the playing contained within. Howe also shows off his sense of humor with a few voicemail messages thrown it for comic relief, that provide a good chuckle. And for any of us players out there, we all know a few people like these on this CD! Sound Proof is an excellent CD filled with some fantastic improv soloing and songwriting. Greg Howe has been a great player for years and this is no disappointment!
Track Listing
- Intro
- Emergency Exit
- Tell Me Something Good
- Connoisseur Part 1
- Reunion
- Morning View
- Walkie Talkie
- Rehearsal Note
- Side Note
- Sunset in El Paso
- Write Me A Song
- Child's Play
- Sound Proof
- Connoisseur Part 2
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