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Yngwie Malmsteen - Blue lightning


Yngwie Malmsteen.

I have been a big fan ever since I first heard the 'Odyssey' record as a young teenage boy just getting into guitar music. I was drawn to the arrogance of just having a picture of yourself as an album cover as the guitar player in the band as I always saw music as a band effort at that time. If you're a guitar player you will know who Yngwie is and you will most likely have your own strong opinion about him. One thing that not an opinion whether you like his playing or not is that he is/was an innovator on the instrument. He has an iconic sound you can spot a mile off and I personally, enjoy it a lot. 

The new album.

"Blue lightning" is being advertised as a blues album but I would use that term very loosely talking about this collection of music. Whilst you would think covers of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton would be straight up blues he has chosen the more hard rocking songs from these artists alongside ZZ Top, Deep Purple, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles songs. If you're expecting faithful renditions of any of the tracks then you will be in for a shock. What will come as no surprise however, is that sweep picking and the harmonic minor scale can found all over the place and played at superhuman speed. Basically he's Yngwie'd the shit out of them. Alongside the covers are four original tracks of variable degrees of blues. 'Blue Lightning' being slightly bluesy in that he uses the minor pentatonic blues scale and '1911 strut' which is more in line with what you would expect on any other Yngwie album. My main criticism is that I wish he had got a better vocalist to work with him. His singing is OK but having worked with the likes of Joe Lynn Turner and Ripper Owens it's clear there are better options available to him than singing it himself.

Is it any good?

I was able to listen to it a few times from start to finish without wanting to skip any if it so that's a good start. Even the overplayed 'smoke on the water'. As an Yngwie fan already I really like the album purely because it at least tries to be different from all of his previous work which can get a bit repetitive at times. I'm not a blues purist but I would consider myself a fan of the genre. The harder side of the style is where I usually gravitate towards. To give you an idea, my favourite 'blues' players are Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa. I use quotations because someone might debate the blues credentials of those players. If you're more into BB King and the more traditional players then I can only imagine the disgust you might feel if you hear this album. 

Here is the title track.



Track listing:
1. Blue Lightning
2. Foxey Lady
3. Demon’s Eye
4. 1911 Strut
5. Blue Jean Blues
6. Purple Haze
7. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
8. Sun’s Up Top’s Down
9. Peace, Please
10. Paint It Black
11. Smoke On The Water
12. Forever Man



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