Don’t Quit Yer Day Job is an intricate track that links together guitar, bass, and drums to create a dense effort that tells more through the instrumental interactions than many bands can do with vocals and a full backing band. The path that Elmo takes fans on during this introductory track will ensure that one stays on the edges of their seat until the album finishes, especially as he takes the composition in a much more heavy, metal-laden approach. Incontinental Breakfast builds off of the work of Eric Johnson, Impellitteri and Warren DeMartini. Rather than only soaring above the track with sizzling guitars, Karjalainen is able to lay down some down and dirty riffs that push the rest of the track into an entirely higher plateau. The production on The Free Guitar Album allows each of the elements to shine alone or as one cohesive effort, meaning that She Sleeps on the Moon is able to sparkle with introspective arrangements and simply brutal guitar work.
Karjalainen is able to create a close grouping of each of the tracks on The Free Guitar Album, but the different tacks that he takes are enough to increase the replay value of the volume considerably. She Sleeps on the Moon exists in a late seventies / early eighties meta dynamic (Dokken, Blizzard of Ozz-era Ozzy) but is spun in a bold new direction with inclusions of Wings and Styx. The Bolero Unravels (I Come Undone) has a chugging heaviness that is countered nicely by a classical Spanish-styled line, creating something intense enough to headband to while finessed enough to be a work of art. The same thing can be said about the whole of The Free Guitar Album.
Top Tracks: Don’t Quit Yer Day Job The Bolero Unravels (I Come Undone)
Rating: 8.7/10
Elmo Karjalainen The Free Guitar Album CD Review / 2015 Self / 10 Tracks / http://www.elmojk.com/ / https://www.youtube.com/user/MrPolevaulter / https://www.facebook.com/elmojk
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
Beats: Independent Music, PC Gaming & Peripherals, Consumer Tech, Webmaster Tools
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