Audio CD review:
Yngwie Johann Malmsteen - Concerto Suite Live with Japan Philharmonic

Yngwie Johann Malmsteen - Concerto Suite Live with Japan Philharmonic

Band: Yngwie Johann Malmsteen Title: Concerto Suite Live with Japan Philharmonic Rating: Release Date: 2001-12-19 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Black Star Overture - Yngwie Malmsteen, Malmsteen, Yngwie 2: The First Movement 3: Brothers - Yngwie Malmsteen, Malmsteen, Yngwie J 4: Icarus Dream Fanfare 5: Cavallino Rampante 6: Fugue 7: Prelude to April 8: Toccata 9: Andante 10: Sarabande 11: Allegro 12: Adagio 13: Vivace 14: Presto Vivace 15: Finale 16: Blitzkrieg - Yngwie Malmsteen, Malmsteen, Yngwie 17: Far Beyond the Sun - Yngwie Malmsteen, Malmsteen, Yngwie

Black Oak Yngwie His guitar sounds like a washboard. There are moments here in which Yngwie Johann Malmsteen plays so fast that the strings don't have time to resonate. While I admire his skill, I think his vision falls a little short and doesn't do the washboard justice. A true washboard player can keep going for hours and hours. Getting those clothes clean, as anybody who's been in rehab knows, is spiritual training. Wherever they're from, the great washboard players have mountain eyes. One-handed stroking, a cello player or two, Tokyo, and in-law problems might be the beginnings of wisdom, but not if pride--"showing off," as Ritchie Blackmore said of Yngwie--keeps rearing its head. A sense of humor wouldn't hurt. Or a pilgrimage to the hills of Caroline. Given the many rock-band-with-symphony-orchestra pairings of late, it's about time that Jim Dandy Mangrum took what remains of Black Oak Arkansas and showed young Yngwie how to do it right. From idiot to savant is sometimes only a motion away. . Un-Freakin Believable He is definitely in his element with an orchestra behind him. Yngwie is amazing as always. There are a few places where I believe he plays too many notes too fast, but thats just my taste. Dissapointed Unfortunately, the instrumentals on his metal albums which I so enjoy apparently exhausted his supply of good material, because not even the reworks of previous stuff on this album are worth listening to. All I ever wanted was for Yngwie to shut up and play; I chomped at the bit for two years before I got this album as a gift. I'd like to send him the cd and ask for my money back. Back to Trilogy I go. Czech vs. New Japan Philharmonic I feel the Czech one is more balanced whereas this one has Yngwie's playing mixed a little too strongly and occasionally overshadowing important aspects of the orchestra. To me, the CD done with the Czech Philharmonic is superior to this one with the New Japan Philharmonic because of the audio mix. However, if you are more interested in hearing his guitar work, then you would probably prefer this version. Actually, since the only DVD of this work is of this performance with the New Japan Philharmonic, I got it on DVD and got the Czech version on CD. (NOTE: For those interested in the DVD, it is quite hard to find since it comes out of Japan, but can usually be found on Ebay. ). Really boring to listen to. YGM has always regarded himself as a modern day Paganini, but even Paganini was never as repetitive as this. Again another album with unbelievable reviews. Uli Jon Roth is the king of this kind of 'orchestral music making', check out his recent 'Legends of Rock' album and you'll see what I'm talking about. You can see a complete list of all Yngwie Johann Malmsteen discography, or go back to the Yngwie Johann Malmsteen tabs