Compilation albums have become a staple of the Magna Carta/Magnatude catalog, and the label's latest collection features a dozen guitar-heavy tunes culled from previous releases that prove not all guitar heroes focus only on technique; substance counts for something, too — and there's plenty of that here.
These 11 extended instrumental workouts and one vocal track fit the jam-band implication of the album's title, but not in the traditional, nonsense noodling sense. Some songs — including cuts by Michael Lee Firkins ("Took the Words Right Outta My Mouth;" not the Meat Loaf track, by the way) and Steve Morse ("Free In the Park") — indulge in the blues, while Alex Skolnick and Charlie Hunter team up for the jazzy "Scorch." And a groovy cover of the disco classic "Dance to the Music" from The Clinton Administration significantly increases the album's sax appeal. "Downside Up" by Oz Noy and Mike Stern (and featuring Anton Fig on drums!) sounds just as dense as the title suggests, and "Dump Truck" is the album's most riff-heavy rocker. Tishamingo chimes in with the retro, laid-back Southern-rock vibe of "Rome," Ozric Tentacles gets lost in the swirling ambience of "Disdots" and Bill Cutler's "Starlite Jamboree" could be an old Steely Dan song from the vault. But the standout track on Jam On Guitars has to be the Fareed Haque Group's "Gulab Jammin," with its shiny Middle-Eastern vibe and Haque's shimmering unconventional fretwork.
The quality on display here is not in question. Magna Carta/Magnatude continues to release quality (albeit lower-profile) work than it did 10 and 15 years ago. That said, Jam On Guitars is not quite as diverse as other comps from the label.
Track Listing:
1) Michael Lee Firkins: Took the Words Right Outta My Mouth
2) Steve Morse: Free in the Park
3) Alex Skolnick Trio: Scorch
4) The Clinton Administration: Dance to the Music
5) The Fareed Haque Group: Gulab Jammin
6) Oz Noy: Downside Up
7) OHMphrey: Lake Shore Drive
8) The Clinton Administration: Flashlight
9) Robert Walter's 20th Congress: Dump Truck
10) Tishamingo: Rome
11) Ozric Tentacles: Disdots
12) Bill Cutler: Starlite Jamboree