Published on Dec 12, 2000
Uli Jon Roth, once a member of Germany’s premier metal bands
Scorpions, knows that his approach to music isn’t for everyone –
and that’s okay with him. Whether you climb on board the train that
is
Transcendental Sky Guitar or you watch it pull away from the
station, he’s cool with it. If you do come with him through these
25 performances, you have to take things on his terms…
period.
There is no doubt that Roth is an outstanding guitarist, and
this release is a constant demonstration of his skills. But
Transcendental Sky Guitar also proves the old axiom true:
you can have too much of a good thing.
A combination of studio and live recordings, Roth proves that
his skills as a guitarist have been underappreciated, even as far
back as his days with the Scorpions. As a rock guitarist, his
skills are phenomenal; as a classical guitarist (albeit on electric
seven-string guitar), he stays true to the original while adding in
his own unique signature. This talent duality is one to be envied,
as well as studied.
The problem? This two-disc set could have easily been pared down
to a single disc. Drop Roth’s almost Deity-like worship of Jimi
Hendrix and a few of the more self-indulgent moments, and this
would have been a damn near perfect album.
In fact, I could make the argument that the entire first disc of
Transcendental Sky Guitar would have been more than
sufficient to satisfy even the most hard-core axe junkie on the
planet. Actually, that’s not completely true; throw both “Spanish
Fantasy” and “Air De Bach” on from the second disc, and
then it would be perfect.
But for some reason, Roth seems to be fascinated with the guitar
playing of Hendrix – and if there’s anyone who doesn’t have to fall
back on Hendrix’s work to prove he can play the guitar, it’s Roth.
Granted, Roth only plays one of Hendrix’s songs which has gotten to
the point of being overdone (“Voodoo Chile”), but Roth proves his
capabilities without having to mine Hendrix’s backcatalog. (One
other side note: while Roth’s guitar skills are wonderful, his
vocals are not his strong point.)
Likewise, some of the moments where it seems like Roth is
playing just to show he can improvise with the best of them (e.g.,
“Freeflow Gem”) only serve to be self-indulgent, and could easily
have been cut from
Transcendental Sky Guitar without hurting the overall
project. While there are some performances on the second half of
this release that deserve to be studied diligently, the bulk of it
borders on fluff.
Transcendental Sky Guitar is still an enjoyable disc,
especially for someone who likes to hear guitar played to
near-perfection. But it could have benefitted from going under the
blade in the editing room.