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Beethoven
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Neoclassical Shred Guitar
(06 Aug 03)
The king lives
His impact on the guitar-scene is undeniable. So is the fact that he still is pretty much the "king" of the neoclassical rock-scene. He still is releasing albums, touring, writing more music in the style he pretty much defined. And IMHO he gets even better as a player year after year.
The thing is, a lot of people make fun of him, or complain about the fact that he tends to repeat himself in his writing and soloing, or because his records all sound pretty similar.
Now, that is just my opinion, but:
1. Yngwie can't please 'em all anyway. No one can. There will always be the fans who'll buy and like pretty much everything he releases, AND the fans who complain that there's not much difference to the previous albums. If he should attempt to play and record something way different, there'd be just as many people flaming him for "selling out" or NOT releasing something they had expected
2. Whether you like it or not, that stuff is still selling, and he still is touring. How many of the neoclassical guys do have that kind of success?
3. About similar-sounding releases... uhm, well, I might get flamed here, but... to me, ACDC records always sound kinda similar. I mean, you know what to expect, and they deliver every time. I love AC/DC, and I don't mind if they release 10 more albums of their patented rock. Same goes for Yngwie. If I wanna listen to something else, I listen to another guitarist. It's as simple as that.
4. About repeating himself in his solos... Gee, even with classical music you have some re-occurring melodies, and if you listen to a lot of blues-players, you often hear the same licks you heard before. Same goes for other instruments, and singers... listen i.e. to David Coverdale.. he constantly uses very similar phrases in his lyrics... I don't mind, it's a part of his style. And I didn't hear anyone complain that Steve Vai used the very same melody in three different songs (one of the main-melodies in "Answers"... it has been used on the Alcatrazz record and the "Flex-Able" record...)
It's a quote, and it doesn't bother me.
And finally, there's the good ol' "He plays fast, so he's got no feeling" discussion. Dude, I don't even wanna get started on that. But take a close listen to Malmsteen's soloing... the man does have a very unique tone, a killer-vibrato, and IMHO he plays with a lot of feel, both slow and fast.
The points above are simply my opinion. Just commenting on some of the most regular discussions I have seen regarding the Yng. Back to our regular program...
Listening recommendations
Well, of course there have been some guitarists before Yngwie that used their classical influences in their music, like Uli Jon Roth, Michael Schenker and Richie Blackmore. But let's start with Yngwie, and take a look at some cool neoclassical stuff that was released after "Rising Force" hit the streets, mkay?
Yngwie Malmsteen- Pretty much everything. My favorite albums by him: "Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force", "Fire & Ice" (some songs feature an actual string ensemble, and some great playing... the quote of Bach's "Badinerie" in "No Mercy" is wonderful IMO), "Alchemy" (a rather recent album, featuring some of his best playing... check out the bluesy "Blue"), and "Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in Eb Minor", which could be considered the climax of Yngwie's career...
Vinnie Moore - "The Mind's Eye" and "The Maze"
Paul Gilbert - "Street Lethal" and "Second Heat" by Racer X
Tony Macalpine - "Edge Of Insanity", "Maximum Security" and "Freedom To Fly"
Joey Tafolla - "Out Of The Sun"
George Bellas - "Mind Over Matter"
OK, now let's get to...
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