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CD reviews

The Genesis

Yngwie Malmsteen - The Genesis Audio CD

A fair review of the Yngwie Malmsteen "The Genesis" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Yngwie Malmsteen reviews here, or go back to the Yngwie Malmsteen tabs.

Band: Yngwie Malmsteen
Title: The Genesis
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-08-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Birth of the Sun 2: Plague in Lucifer's Mind [Instrumental] 3: Dying Man 4: Black Magic Suite Op. 3 [Instrumental] 5: Merlin's Castle 6: Voodoo Nights [Instrumental] 7: Voodoo Chile

one of the best
am a big yngwie fan since i was 17 and this cd is truly a masterpiece
its really raw and the rythm riffs here re so well composed having this dark neoclassical spirit in it
i dont know how to explain it but in my opinion . . its different and unique to all yngwie's later work
if you are a malmsteen fan you should buy this
total raw perfection
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Early Malmsteen (LoL)
He's so bloody fast on this CD it's not to be believed. These recordings are dated around 1980, before his STEELER and ALCATRAZZ days.

Poor production quality on the live tracks. Even so, you can hear his speed and accuracy. The main guitar riffs here in these songs were later used and renamed for his major market LP's like "Odyssey". Man that blew my mind.

The live video (included in th CD) is great. His poses always crack me up. Can't believe how fast and articulated his playing is. It's really incredible, seriously.

If you're a fan or NOT a fan of YJM, this is a great CD to buy for it's raw energy and the overwhelming display of talent evident in the studio tracks and live tracks.

Fun Facts: Yngwie Malmsteen (for those of you who don't know it already) is a lightning fast rock guitarist whose music has loads of classical overtones. He is the template for any neo-classical or speed metal or "virtuoso" type rock music. What I did not know,even as a long time fan, was that he wrote the majority of his main riffs when he was a TEENAGER! These recordings are dated around 1980, before his STEELER and ALCATRAZZ days. [check out 7TH SIGN, Trilogy, Concerto in E minor, and any of his live concert DVD's]
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Japanese Edition,Different Cover
I have'nt heard this cause I own the 2002 Japanese cd version and all I can say is,'Why the repackaging all the time?' Do they think I will buy it again with a few different pics or want me to forget I have it and repurchase it a second time?. Who knows.

Really fun to listen to.
Listening to Yngwie play what would become the neo classical genre is like listening to early Black Sabbath and hearing how Heavy Metal came about (I know, there's some band you know of that started heavy metal first, gimme a break, I am just trying to make a point. This is great album for Yngwie fans and also people that want to hear how a genre of music was developed. )

I'm sure that all these have been available on bootlegs and unofficial releases. However, if you own the official Spitfire release of Inspiration you have heard clips of some of these songs on the interview disc.

It's also great to hear some of the early themes that Malmsteen would put on much later albums. Most notably to me is "Merlin's Castle" which feature the same themes both lyrically and melodically with "The Wizard" on the album War to End all Wars. The song "Merlin's Castle" also features the same solo progression as "Rising Force" on the album Odyssey. The similarities in melodies should be embraced by music fans because it is amazing that Yngwie was already hearing and playing (mind you, not so polished) these amazing theme's and progressions at 16 years old that would become huge hits years and years later. .

A comparison sound review: Genesis VS Birth of the Sun

First, let me make one thing perfectly clear: I do not now, nor have I ever, worked for or been associated with either Yngwie or Marcel Jacob in any way. I am posting this review under both "The Genesis" and "Birth of the Sun" albums. The following is just my personal unbiased opinion as a guitarist and fan. Take it for what it's worth.
I have Yngwie's "The Genesis" as well as the demos released by Marcel Jacob under the Rising Force name entitled "Birth of the Sun", and although they both have basically the same demo tracks there is an interesting difference between the two in sound quality.
Marcel's disc is slightly louder in volume and to my ears more "pure" (for lack of a better word) in that it sounds closest to the original demo tapes (of which I have a crumbling cassette copy from eons ago). It seems that Marcel did not do any major reprocessing to the tapes, so what you get is basically the raw, straightforward 8 track demo sound from 1980, which some listeners may prefer. I feel that Marcel wanted to keep things as original as possible and I believe that he did just that. In his liner notes he explains the technical process and the problems he had finding an 8 track Tascam machine to play the tapes on. The results are not bad, but what you end up with is a recording that is still quite a bit rough around the edges.
Yngwie, on the other hand, has chosen to remix his distant past. He has re-recorded all of Marcel's bass tracks, effectively cutting his old bandmate out of the demos completely, so no credit is given to Marcel on the disc. Zepp Urgard's original drum tracks remain, so it would seem that some animosity exists between Yngwie and Marcel. Or maybe Yngwie liked Zepp's drumming but not Marcel's bass work on these tapes. Of course, it is also possible that Yngwie wanted to re-record Zepp's tracks as well, but perhaps he reasoned that since the drums leaked onto the live guitar tracks it would have been more problematic to replace them. Possibly it was merely due to the fact that drums are not Yngwie's forte. So for whatever reason, Zepp's tracks remain.
Purists may scream "sacrilege" at this remixing of a notable piece of modern electric guitar history but as Yngwie says in his own words, "It's my creation after all". Normally, most bands use a more collaborative process in the creation of their art, but not in this case where it is obvious that the man had his own vision and the creation sprang from one mind alone. The truly talented artist (in any genre of art, be it painting, sculpture, or music) must always pursue his own vision, and who are we to question his methods. We can only accept or reject his results. Anyway, the newly recorded bass tracks give these aging demos a more streamlined and, shall we say, "produced" sound than before. He also did a better job of remastering the original tapes to produce a less compressed and clearer sound spectrum with a much heavier punch to the drums. Overall, it's a smoother, more aurally pleasing sound.
Therefore, in my humble opinion (and with all due respect to Marcel, who did the best he could), Yngwie has released the superior set of demos here. They are much better sounding and more polished than Marcel's version. It is most likely Yngwie who has the first generation tapes, so he has the highest fidelity copy to work with. In the end, I really like what he did with these raw demos. So my vote goes to Yngwie.
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You can see a complete list of all Yngwie Malmsteen discography, or go back to the Yngwie Malmsteen tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.