Published on Jun 15, 2005
My appreciation for the guitar work of the likes of
Ronnie Montrose and
Larry Carlton has led me to listen
to a fair amount of instrumental guitar music over time. One of the
conclusions this has led me to is that there are a lot of
guitarists out there who think they have both the technical and the
compositional chops to entertain without words… and fewer
who are right. Thus, I approached this disc with an attitude of
caution.
Fortunately for both of us, guitarist Curtis Fornadley was more
than up to the task of giving me an attitude adjustment. This
consistently entertaining sophomore effort from the LA-based
Fornadley — who goes by “Curtis” professionally — won me over
with its sustained high quality musicianship, strong composition
and occasional bold strokes.
The most appealing aspect of
Blue Electric Cool is that these cuts are more than just
jams, they’re actual songs, with beginnings, middles and ends,
builds that make sense and arrangements that leave space for
interplay without ever devolving into self-indulgent soloing.
The second most appealing aspect of this disc is Curtis’
eclectic taste and audacious mixing and melding of musical styles.
A perfect example is this disc’s opener, “Spanish Surf,” which
sounds just about like what you might hope for with a title like
that — the basic propulsiveness of a surf guitar tune,
interspersed with unusual little Spanish-tinged interludes that
incorporate exotic rhythms and synth tones.
Curtis delves effectively into Carlton-esque jazz-pop fusion
(complete with horn section) on “Street Walkin’.” “Fire In Her
Eyes” has an almost Western feel to some passages (is that one of
Clint Eastwood’s old “man with no name” themes whistling through
the background on the choruses?), then goes off on a sweetly
twisting solo. “Nothing Can Bother Us Now” lays down a slow, sweet
blues groove that had me snapping my fingers. “Rollercoaster” is an
aptly named, energetic and rather Jeff Beck-ish jam which would
sound even better without the synth accents. And “Tasty Burger” is
indeed a very tasty blues-funk goof (again, with horn section).
One of the more interesting cuts here finds Curtis experimenting
with a vaguely Eastern tonality and doing some nimble picking on
“Race With Jesus On PCH” — which in its latter stages jams hard
and creatively enough to make me think of early ’80s Rush (that’s a
compliment, son…). C also has some fun with the Prez in the
rather menacing “Weapons Of Mass Destruction,” and lends a rather
proggish feel to the shifting, expansive title track.
At times Curtis goes a bit Stevie Ray Vaughan in terms of feel
and use of distortion, and like any smart electric guitarist, he
ultimately worships at the altar of Jimi (“IF6WAS9 Records”…
yup). But his approach is a little cleaner and more mainstream than
either. That’s not a knock; simply a concession to the reality that
Hendrix is Hendrix, Vaughan is Vaughan, and Curtis is Curtis.
The title of this album seemingly offers a nod to Joe Satriani
—
Flying In A Blue Dream and all — but Curtis is not a
“guitar playing as gymnastics” kind of guy; he’s a lot more focused
and confident than that.
Cool Electric Blue in fact fits the personality of this
album beautifully — clean, sharp, confident and fun. Enjoy.
[For more information, visit Curtis at
www.curtisguitar.com]