Search - Gary Lucas :: Paradiso

Snapshot of endless possibilities

Previn Karian | UK | 11/05/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The cover of this CD features Lucas playing a '63 Strat that has a bend in the neck while he fiercely attacks what could be the next slide section about to be splattered with an explosion of notes.That bend in the guitar neck is a good description of the snapshot of treats that this short collection of instrumental work brings. Lucas is all about bending the rules, the notes, the compositional progression so far and so fast that he keeps hitting us with the impossible shapes and possibilities of sound. A fearless solo performance here is executed with a deck of electronic distortion options and an array of pedals to deliver three psychedelic, blues-based avant garde improvisations in what is now being recognised as the Hendrix-Zappa tradition of virtuoso solo guitar work to which Lucas belongs. The fourth Chinese pop song, played on his National Steel Duolian, reminds us that there are many more worlds which Lucas has not only visited but returned from with a breath-taking mastery of the musical subject.For those who like the exquisite Rise Up to Be and Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro on this album, there is plenty more where that came from in Lucas' first album Skeleton at the Feast. Evocative backdrop melodies either crash into a swirl of sonic expressionism or explode into viciously intelligent outbursts and wailing protests which Lucas runs into and then stalls in a fuzz box or wah sustained pelting. He is not afraid to take his time to allow the full weight of his communication to play itself out before blitzing into his next inspired burst of speed. His more confident playing here can be heard in the brazen wall of black sound in Autobahn, and the meditative openings of repeated phrases sent through echo pedals in the first two tracks which are immensely suggestive of endless spaces out of which clarity, speed and precision come rushing in upon the listener.This was my first Lucas album and was so compellingly original, refreshing (quite appropriately released on the Oxygen Music Works label) and alert that I went on to explore the rest of an astonishingly diverse and little known artist. Zappa once described his own solos as `speech inflected', and more than technical wizardry and lightning fretboard speeds, it is the ability to say something which can't be put into words that aligns Lucas with Zappa and Hendrix.This album is a good introduction to an impossibly diverse guitarist. Those who launch into his recent retrospective album Improve the Shining Hour risk drowning in the unbelievable range of techniques, styles, moods, song writing and film score compositions that Lucas has produced.Whilst Lucas has produced excellent guitar playing in other albums such as Busy Being Born and Evangeline, this remains for me the right level of shock introduction for a highly gifted artist of our times."

Press Releases

Previn Karian | 01/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"AMID THE COMPULSIVE PSYCHEDELIA OF HIS SOLO WORK - HEARD WONDERFULLY ON THE NEW 'PARADISO' EP - THERE LURKS A ROMANTIC. 'Songstress on the Edge of Heaven,' commissioned for a pal's wedding, is pure lyricism and blithe scholarship, and somewhere along the line, Lucas' national steel guitar places the vintage Chinese tune an inch or two from one of Taj's delta dreams. Prepare for an unusual recital." VILLAGE VOICE, 4/99"

Four Corners of Lucas' World

BB | Whitmore Lake, MI USA | 01/07/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a sampler-length CD showing the breadth of what guitarist/composer Lucas can do. "Rise Up to Be" is a soundscape which grew out of Lucas' collaboration with the late Jeff Buckley. It is electro-operatic in its ambition, and for the most part succeeds in carrying the listener along. Lucas also offers a cover of Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" that's fun, especially for those of us who remember the original. But it is the other side of Lucas' sensibility--his ear for the delicacy and majesty of less techno musics---which provides the best moments here. Abdullah Ibrahim's "Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro" is based on a simple ostinato, and Lucas' ability to create loops of accompaniment to solo over is ideally suited to this. "Songstress On the Edge of Heaven," a live version of the Chinese film score tune first recorded on his "Evangeline" album, is played on a National Steel guitar. The sound is what I imagine blues koto might sound like. This CD is far too short, but these last two tracks convey more emotional and beauty than many other players do with double CDs."