Thanks to a recommendation from this board, I bought John West´s 2nd solo album "Permanent Mark" a while back and just love it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes melodic, rather epic metal and have to say it´s one of the most consistently good albums I´ve bought in a long time. Admittedly I don´t like "Mind Journey" as much - his first solo album - but it sure has its moments and so I´m on the lookout for more JW stuff. I understand he sung on Cozy Powell´s last album "Especially For You". Can anyone give me some details of it? Was it Japan-only? Mainly instrumental? Who plays guitar? Is it any good? The other thing i´d like some info on is Artension. I listened to "Machine" briefly and frankly the songs and West´s voice sounded great. What grated were the too-frequent and frankly irritating keyboard solos on every song. Is every Artension album like this?http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6881#msg-6881Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:45:06 +1000 Phorum 5.2.16 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7054#msg-7054 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7054#msg-7054
Alain Caron is excellent and Uzeb is a very good outfit. If you're into fusion/jazz rock/smooth jazz and if you feel like talking a bit about it, just e-mail me. Cheers. Laurent]]> Laurent NoticeboardThu, 12 Oct 2000 18:30:46 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7052#msg-7052 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7052#msg-7052 Steve, Denmark NoticeboardThu, 12 Oct 2000 18:08:21 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7022#msg-7022 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7022#msg-7022
Keith Bage a regular trader on the site has a copy in his possesion. I think John West must have been filling in during the Robert Mason,Oni Logan in out inout fiasco. Hope this helps]]> Nick Green NoticeboardThu, 12 Oct 2000 06:34:07 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7008#msg-7008 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,7008#msg-7008
The first bass player to catch my attention was Steve Harris. He stood out so well with Iron Maiden.

I'm also quite fond of Tony Franklin after hearing the first Blue Murder album.

Outside of rock, I saw Michael Manring once and while he had the "new age" tag, I still enjoyed his music.

When it comes to Clarke, has anyone heard Live At The Greek with Larry Carlton and Billy Cobham (among others)? This rates as one of my favorite live CD's period.

Another guy who I stumbled across recently is Alain Caron (sp?). I happened to come across a concert by Uzeb, a group from Canada that never seemed to get much interest here. Anyway, it's a three-piece group, so the bass playing stands out. I've managed to track down their CD's and find them rather enjoyable.

]]> Jake NoticeboardThu, 12 Oct 2000 02:29:48 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6994#msg-6994 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6994#msg-6994
Jaco was amazing. He was playing in his own league. He was not my favourite bass player but one cannot deny that Jaco was brilliant.

I also dig Jimmy Haslip (Yellow Jackets) and the legendary Stanley Clarke. Stanley has a fabulous solo album out called Stanley Clarke & Friends : Live At Greek featuring Billy Cobham, Larry Carlton, Najee and Deron Johnson. If you're into fusion/jazz rock, give it a try. One of Stanley's latest projects, Vertu, is also worth checking out.

Regards
Laurent]]> Laurent NoticeboardWed, 11 Oct 2000 17:53:44 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6980#msg-6980 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6980#msg-6980 Carl NoticeboardWed, 11 Oct 2000 03:16:33 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6970#msg-6970 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6970#msg-6970
I fell in love with bass playing when I heard Neil on "Come ANd Get It". I had never heard such a melodic and at the same time powerful but fine bass playing before. I started digging everything Neil did and the more I discovered the multiple faces of his talent the more I got addicted to his playing. Neil's an amazing musician and a fantastic guy. He can play everything. I had the chance to witness this when he invited me to attend a SAS gig in Geneva (w/Chris Thompson and the late Paul Young amongst others) and heard him play songs from ABBA, Stevie Wonder, Mike And The Mechanics or The Rolling Stones. Of course, he's not the only one like this but he's, to me, so different than the other players. I may be a bit subjective though because we became friends and meet once or twice a year.

Another bass player who kills me (another buddy as well...) is Neil Stubenhaus, the famous session musician. This guy is great too ! I saw him playing with Karizma in April (and will see him again on 26 October as Karizma - Michael Landau, Vinnie Colaiuta and David Garfield - will tour Europe in October) and Stubidoo is a killer !

Billy Sheehan is probably one of the very few "chops guys" that I really like because he plays with feeling and for the songs. His work with Mr. Big is fantastic and I really respect him. He knows when to get wild and when to play with finesse. And he's great to see live !

Barry Sparks..... I'm ashamed... I've never heard a single note played by him... Peter Bietenholz told me many times how brilliant this guy was but the bands he's been playing with are not always my cup of tea... but I will check him out.

Other bass players I dig.... Leland Sklar, Abraham Laboriel, Tommy Caradonna, Nathan East, Marcel Jacob (w/Talisman), Magnum's Wally Lowe, Pat Metheny's Steve Rodby, Pink Cream 69's Dennis Ward, Marco Mendoza, Tower of Power's Rocco Prestia, etc.

Cheers. Laurent ]]> Laurent NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 17:50:10 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6951#msg-6951 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6951#msg-6951I agree that he does sound like Glenn Hughes but that can only be a good thing in my book.
I am surprised Malmsteen said he was an egotist, he's a fine one to talk eh ?
I wrote to John West a while back and got a really nice reply with all my questions answered. Seems like a nice bloke to me.]]> Carl NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 09:15:36 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6942#msg-6942 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6942#msg-6942 Steve, Denmark NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 07:47:09 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6940#msg-6940 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6940#msg-6940Do you really think Ray Gillen and John West´s styles are similar? I only have the first Badlands album to go by, I remember hearing so many good things about RG and then being so disappointed with that album. His voice is just too shrill and one-dimensional. West is something else altogether. He reminds me of Glenn Hughes sometimes but he sounds more powerful when he hits the high notes.]]> Steve, Denmark NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 07:37:59 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6933#msg-6933 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6933#msg-6933Ray Gillen was the main singer although John West is on a couple of tracks I have on a cd somewhere. Haven't got it to hean so I can't be more specific sorry.
Thing is you WILL like it regardless of the difference in singers as they are both great vocalists and of a similar style.
The Lynch Mob stuff is from about 18 months to 2 years old when John was drafted in at very short ( days ) notice to replace Robert Mason. I don't believe there are any songs recorded with John on vocals.
Did you know John West also auditioned for Journey ?]]> Carl NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 03:30:14 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6930#msg-6930 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6930#msg-6930
Mike Casswell is a very fine guitar player. He's not the king of guy that will flood you with 20 layers of guitars like John Sykes or play 10,000 notes/second like Steve Vai. Casswell seems to be from the British school. Not a flashy player but nevertheless very tasteful. I am more into bass than into guitar but what I really liked about Casswell is that he is playing what the song calls for. I would say that he's more like Michael Landau than Joe Satriani : he's got the chops but he's not overusing them. I don't remember having heard something totally amazing or spectacular on this CD guitar-wise but only something that perfectly fits into the music. I am afraid this will not be of any help.... so I try this : buy this CD because the mighty Neil Murray's on it ! Regards. Laurent ]]> Laurent NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 02:20:14 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6929#msg-6929 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6929#msg-6929
If you're just looking at a possible purchase based on guitar, I'd have to say that this might be a pass for you. (This is always so difficult considering each individual's tastes.)

Might see if Andrew has some soundbytes of this one in the archives somewhere.

]]> Jake NoticeboardTue, 10 Oct 2000 02:15:35 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6926#msg-6926 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6926#msg-6926Janke, the anti-hunting lyrics you mention are definitely a surprise - I gather that JW is a bit of a hunting fan (he thanks at least one firearms manufacturer on his albums and also his hunting buddies)! The pro-family lyric comes as less of a shock - "Restless Heart" from Permanent Mark has the same angle. As you say, refreshing.
But anyway: OK, "EFY" is AOR, but what´s the guitar like? Many people cite Ten as AOR but Vinny still manages to rip it up. Same with Journey. Guitar is very important to me so if the solos are not stunning I´m unlikely to get into it.

]]> Steve, Denmark NoticeboardMon, 09 Oct 2000 23:52:56 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6924#msg-6924 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6924#msg-6924
What stands out on this CD is actually the lyrics. I wish Cozy was still alive to comment on them. One song is anti-poaching while another is a rather pro-family tune. It's not your typical hard-rock lyrics and I found it rather refreshing.

Except for the instrumental, there's no over-the-top drum solos like on his prior albums. This would have fit well as a "Forcefield" project like he had done in the 80's with Tony Martin, Graham Bonnet, etc. But a good CD nonetheless.]]> Jake NoticeboardMon, 09 Oct 2000 23:42:07 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6923#msg-6923 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6923#msg-6923Regards. Laurent

Steve, Denmark wrote:
-------------------------------
Thanks to a recommendation from this board, I bought John West´s 2nd solo album "Permanent Mark" a while back and just love it. I would recommend this to anyone who likes melodic, rather epic metal and have to say it´s one of the most consistently good albums I´ve bought in a long time. Admittedly I don´t like "Mind Journey" as much - his first solo album - but it sure has its moments and so I´m on the lookout for more JW stuff.
I understand he sung on Cozy Powell´s last album "Especially For You". Can anyone give me some details of it? Was it Japan-only? Mainly instrumental? Who plays guitar? Is it any good?
The other thing i´d like some info on is Artension. I listened to "Machine" briefly and frankly the songs and West´s voice sounded great. What grated were the too-frequent and frankly irritating keyboard solos on every song. Is every Artension album like this?]]> Laurent NoticeboardMon, 09 Oct 2000 19:36:11 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6909#msg-6909 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6909#msg-6909Another great piece of classically tinged rock.]]> Carl NoticeboardMon, 09 Oct 2000 06:08:36 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6902#msg-6902 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6902#msg-6902
I would agree with the above. The Cozy album is excellent with John west on vox.
The remake of the "devil" is pretty cool.

Get this album if you like the more mellow side of John West's voice. Also if you are a collector there is a Lynch Mob double live cd doing the rounds featuring John West on vox although the sound quality is pants.]]> Nick Green NoticeboardMon, 09 Oct 2000 02:45:37 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6885#msg-6885 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6885#msg-6885I can't remember who the guitarist is but the musicianship was top quality throughout. Cozy was surprisingly restrained though.
As for Artension all their albums are superb especially the 2nd one but I am afraid
there are lots of keyboard solos so if you don't like that sort of thing then Artension is not the band for you.
John West also appears on some Sun Red Sun stuff. ]]> Carl NoticeboardSun, 08 Oct 2000 10:44:24 +1100 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6881#msg-6881 http://www.melodicrock.com/phorum52/read.php?1,6881,6881#msg-6881I understand he sung on Cozy Powell´s last album "Especially For You". Can anyone give me some details of it? Was it Japan-only? Mainly instrumental? Who plays guitar? Is it any good?
The other thing i´d like some info on is Artension. I listened to "Machine" briefly and frankly the songs and West´s voice sounded great. What grated were the too-frequent and frankly irritating keyboard solos on every song. Is every Artension album like this?]]> Steve, Denmark NoticeboardSun, 08 Oct 2000 05:37:59 +1100