Bradford You're Doing It Wrong Review by Gary Hill
This is guitar dominated instrumental rock. That said, it's not noodly or repetitive. Sure, there is a lot of guitar soloing throughout. A full "song" type effect is always at the heart of it, though. This lands somewhere along the lines of AOR prog mixed with fusion and some of the kind of music Joe Satriani does. However you slice it, though, this is inspired and varied. It's a nice ride.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2017 Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
You're Doing It Wrong
Sound bites including someone saying, "I meant to do that," open the disc. From there it launches into a killer jam that's part fusion and part guitar hero type stuff. This is very much like something Joe Satriani might do. It has some intriguing angles and twists.
Suddenly A bit mellower, this more of a melodic rocker. Still, the guitar soloing drives it in intense directions.
Pushed There is an electronic vibe that opens this. The cut feels like part modern electronic dance and part Kraftwerk during this intro. As it works out from there it gets into more prog rock territory. There is a bit of a middle Eastern element to it. The cut is energetic, driving and very cool.
One Step
Starting on piano, there is a very jazz-like element to this piece at the beginning.It's a short cut (less than a minute and a half) and remains quite sedate and rather jazzy even when other elements join.
The Longer Road
More of a rocker, this is solid stuff. It's perhaps less proggy than the things we've heard to this point, but it has enough twists and turns to keep it interesting. The guitar soloing is melodic and classy. There are definitely fusion elements at play here.
In Flux
With keyboards swirling around, a killer bass line drives this at the start. It threatens to explode for a while before it actually does. Then we get an almost metallic jam that is definitely on the crunchy edge of modern prog. As it continues it drifts toward fusion and also has some middle Eastern tones in some of the soloing.
Mom's Place This short little jam has a lot of country and old-school sound built into it.
Run Away Coming in dramatic and powerful, this is a melodic rocker with an emphasis on the rock. It also gets into fusion territory.
State of Mind
With a melodic, mellower introduction, this moves out to something that's very much AOR prog sounding. Imagine combining 80s or 90s era Rush with Joe Satriani. Now you are in the right neighborhood.
Another Door A driving melodic rocker with plenty of fusion, this has some great lines of music at its heart. The guitar soloing is particularly tasty on this number.
The Precipice Perhaps the most decidedly prog rock piece here, this is melodic and quite cool. It has energy and passion built into it.
Crossing Over
Harder rocking, there is crunch and drive to this. That said, it also has a lot of melody. There are progressive elements here. There are some intriguing changes.
