Search - Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane :: Zenhouse

Zen House - Intense, ambient, exotic

Corey | Far away | 02/04/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Such a high level of musicianship from these two yet again. I am continually impressed with Shawn Lane. I have been blown away by Shawn on Time is The Enemy and my personal favorite Two Doors, and with this intimate acoustic set was sonically entranced. The 4 pieces slowly build and then wane as these 2 weave intricate patterns of exotic/eastern melodies.The highlight for me is the final piece where the two inject some seriously tasty runs with some pace - this is a nice change from the slower, intense emotional build of the previous pieces. At about 6 minutes into the last piece Shawn plays some truly devastating lines that will make your ears do a double take.It is an interesting change from the usual electric set and apt. Q-258 provides the solid background which further empowers the intensity of the total sonic palette.Shawn has got to be one of the best kept secrets of guitar mastery!4 stars only because I believe that 5 stars is for a piece that has held the test of time and remained in the collective muscial consciousness. This is certainly a must have for fans though.Be inspired!"

Zen indeed!

crown of indica | saint paul,mn,usa | 05/17/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"first off,if you want balls-out guitar theatrics looks elsewhere because this performance was all about subtle intricasies.some will become bored with zenhouse because the music lives in a place where time,volume,and voice have an unprecedented ebb and flow:it can seem long on one occassion,short the next,and what you think is repetitive droning actually has minute differences in texture,etc.this album is for people who like to look at shawn lane and hellborg's playing under the microscope because it demands a trained ear to catch every breeze of wind that takes them from one section to the next.i think i read that shawn never plays fast on the entire thing,but that person must've only listened to the first couple tracks before giving up because towards the end of the story shawn blazes up the frets with his usually intricate speed,but with a soft touch--like he has cotton balls on his fingers.i'd say give this one a try if don't have an attention disorder and can chill for an hour."