It's true: Guitars still suck!

AlanRatcliffe

The new Bumblefoot CD: Abnormal this morning. I'm not even finished listening to it once yet and I have to write about my first impressions.

Quite simply it's amazing! I've been laughing, saying "WTF?" and getting cold chills for the last half hour. He's still one of the few players that can make me laugh with a musical phrase, production twist or quick reference to another musical style.

It's not a CD for anyone looking for one genre of music as it ranges in stylistic influences from classic rock, punk, country, Queen, spaghetti western, shred, rapcore, numetal, classical, Russian classical, opera and even a little Beatles ...often within the same song. Guitar playing is - as usual - brilliant, but that's only one part of the whole.

I bought the whole kit 'n caboodle: CD, mini "foot" guitar (cute and cool), plectrum, sticker, "Making of..." DVD and photo. Ron signed both CD and photo and said: "I still owe ya a clinic in South Africa!" on the photo - so hold thumbs everyone.

Edit: I've copied the links here from later in the thread:
http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/Guitars_Still_Suck.mp3 - 4MB
http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/bbf_abnormal_solos.mp3 - 5MB

AlanRatcliffe

Almost forgot: I've mailed him and asked if I can rip and share the Guitars Still Suck track with you guys. It's pretty scary... Countrified this time too.

lightspeedchili

cool thanks a lot alan, sounds intriguing

Squonk

Where did you get the whole package, Alan?

AlanRatcliffe

Where did you get the whole package, Alan?

Directly from www.baldfreak.com - Limited edition and they are all gone now. ☹ You can buy most of the things seperately, but it works out more expensive.

dee

I've heard so much of him, but never anything by him. I know, bad on my part. I'll look into it...

AlanRatcliffe

http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/Guitars_Still_Suck.mp3

Renesongs

Great stuff - Satch's Boogie by Sony Landreth and the Mothers of Invention ?

FenderBender

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/Guitars_Still_Suck.mp3

Ok sounds like Jimi Hendrix playing at the annual Russian vodka drinking contest!

Lethe

wow, thats amazing. hectic

AlanRatcliffe

...and the "solo" is a fretless, BTW ?

Wessel

Wow like John 5 on steroids ! I like it !

Renesongs

http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/Guitars_Still_Suck.mp3

Drums are programmed samples aren't they ? 8)

Squonk

This is genius Alan. Guitar playing with a sense of humour, I haven't heard something like this since I first stumbled on Zappa in the seventies.
I was wandering around Hillbrow (JHB's cosmopolitan centre at that time) and bought "Another band from LA", brilliant stuff.
I will definately be checking out Bumblefoot.

AlanRatcliffe

Renesongs wrote:
http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/Guitars_Still_Suck.mp3
Drums are programmed samples aren't they ? 8)

Guy called Dennis Leeflang, ex the band Sun Caged. He's pretty good... ?

Renesongs

Guy called Dennis Leeflang, ex the band Sun Caged. He's pretty good...

Pretty damn good - how he manages to pull off the increasing tempo stuff so accurately is beyond me. 8)

AlanRatcliffe

I did a quick comp of a few of the solos off the new Abnormal album:
http://ratcliffe.co.za/sundry/bbf_abnormal_solos.mp3 - 5MB

FatBoy

*GULP* now that is some crazy stuff right there!! +2

Renesongs

Thanks Al - You just wet my appetite for more, guess I'll be buying the album - what gets my goat is that I can't seem to find any Bumblefoot in the local music stores, I don't have enough cap to buy downloadable and overseas postage is really expensive.

AlanRatcliffe

$11.99 + $2.40 shipping from www.baldfreak.com. ?