Published on Jan 26, 2000
In fairness, I should make this disclosure at the start of this
review: I happen to know Dave Uhrich. While it has been several
years since he and I have spoken, I still consider him a teacher
and a friend. It was he who taught me to play guitar when he was a
local celebrity teaching at Minstrel Music in Niles. I remember
sitting in the cramped lesson room, my jaw literally scraping the
floor as he showed me techniques on the guitar I could only dream
of performing. I remember having the same feeling when he gave me a
copy of his demo tape – which I still keep as a prized
possession.
I boldly predicted that Uhrich would become the next Joe
Satriani if he was given the right breaks. And, for a while, it
seemed like things would go his way, as he landed a record deal and
released two CDs. Unfortunately, fate has a nasty way of playing
tricks; the records were never adequately publicized, and the label
folded after a few years. I also never quite warmed up to those
discs, for some reason. It always seemed like Dave was holding back
his full potential. (Some of the songs from his demo were
re-recorded for these albums – and I’m sorry, but I was always
biased towards the demo.)
Now, some five years after his last effort
Fret-No-Tized hit the bins, Uhrich has returned with a new
label, a new band (including drummer extraordinaire Kenny Aronoff)
and a new disc,
Change. This disc provides an insight into the trials and
tribulations that Uhrich appears to have gone through in his life
recently – proving that sometimes, out of the greatest pain comes
the most beautiful work.
The first time I picked this disc up (believe it or not, I
actually bought this one, as I have all of his commercially
available discs), I got worried when I saw that Uhrich was now
singing. Uh, oh… last time a guitar god tried that, it was Joe
Satriani on
Flying In A Blue Dream, a release which left me a bit cold.
(It wasn’t until recently seeing Satch in concert that I was
convinced he could pull off vocals well.) However, my fears were
quickly put to rest on the very first track (and one hell of a
candidate for a single), “Some Things I Can’t Change”. In fact,
Uhrich’s vocals are incredibly strong – something which pleasantly
surprised me.
Now, I do not claim to have any insight into what’s happened in
Uhrich’s life, and I apologize in advance if I’m wrong. Like I
said, I don’t believe I’ve spoken to him in four years, and the
last time was just to say “hey”. (To be honest, I don’t know if
Dave would remember who I was, though if he did, I would be
incredibly flattered.) But the lyrics in many of these songs
suggest that Uhrich has been through a nasty divorce, and his way
of healing the wounds that such a split can leave was by venting
his sadness, anger, frustration and confusion through his
music.
In that regard,
Change is a very difficult album to get through. This is an
album that exposes many raw nerves, and Uhrich isn’t afraid to let
people know how he feels. Again, from “Some Things I Can’t Change”:
“Read this like it once was / Believe this I’ll learn to love again
/ Hold me until you fall / You told me your promise then took it
all away”. Ka-pow. Yet there remains a flicker of hope amidst the
pain; tracks like “I Feel Alive,” “Something 2 Believe” and “All
That Remains” all suggest that Uhrich could see rays of light
bursting between the storm clouds. There’s a message in there for
all of us, I think.
On his previous albums, Uhrich tried to play the role of guitar
ubermensch; this time, it’s almost as if Uhrich decides to
play the role of Eric Clapton and allow the song to be the vehicle,
not the guitar solo. It’s a dangerous move, but it works well.
Tracks like “Why Do You Cry,” “Looking Glass” and “Crazy In Love”
all prove that the move is worth it. (To be fair, I was prepared to
rip “Crazy In Love”, ready to accuse it of being the “thumb your
nose” song against the ex-wife with the ending verse about being
loved by thousands of women. However, once I heard Uhrich’s
tongue-in-cheek, jazz meets David Lee Roth style, I understood
everything.)
Of course, Uhrich spends some time flexing his guitar muscle on
a few instrumentals, but he’s also more than willing to give his
bandmates – Aronoff and bassist Wally Hustin – room to show their
stuff on the track “Air Guitar”. “Alone” reminds me of the two
previous instrumental albums that Uhrich has done, while “Guitar
Food” acts as a prelude of things to come. “Freedom Rain” is a
beautiful acoustic piece, and hearing it makes me wonder if Uhrich
would ever consider doing just an album of acoustic guitar
work.
The masterpiece on this album is “Bliss,” an instrumental that
is performed solely by Uhrich. Using one guitar, effects pedals and
no overdubs, he creates a song with Gothic overtones that reminds
me of the works of Mike Oldfield and Vangelis. I’ve seen this track
performed live courtesy of a local-access cable show, and watching
Uhrich play this song demonstrates just why this guy’s name should
be uttered in the same breath as Satriani, Steve Vai or Eric
Johnson. Every time I hear this song – and I think I’ve now
listened to it some 25 times – I hear something new. If you’re not
moved by this piece of music, you have no blood left in your body.
If the mood is right, I can be moved to tears by this piece.
It may seem hard for some to believe I can be objective about
Change, knowing that I have a history with Uhrich… but I
can honestly say, with all sincerity, that this is the best work
that Uhrich has ever done. If this disc does not make Uhrich a
star, I will seriously question whether there is a God out there.
If this disc does make Uhrich a star like I hope it will, I’ll know
that he’s long overdue.
Change is good, Dave… and
Change is easily the best disc I’ve listened to in the
longest time.
[For more information about this album, visit
Dave Uhrich’s Web
site.]
2000 Christopher Thelen and “The Daily Vault”. All rights
reserved. Review or any portion may not be reproduced without
written permission. Cover art is the intellectual property of the
record label, and is used for information purposes only.