I finally listened to an Yngwie Malmsteen/Rising Force album today

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Stephen J, Jun 23, 2018.

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  1. vonseux

    vonseux Re-channeled Stereo

    Location:
    Portugal
    Yeah Odyssey is a very strong album, and even stronger opening track.... it might be one of the all-time best power metal ever
     
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  2. Curveboy

    Curveboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    Rising Force, Bite The Bullet/Riot In The Dungeons, Deja Vu, Crystal Ball...it's an incredible album!
     
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  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    Really, for anyone that likes the pop/metal scene at all, it is an essential album
     
  4. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
  5. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product

    Alcatrazz - Live Sentence 1984

     
  6. JakeKlas

    JakeKlas Impatiently waiting for an 8-track revival

    Location:
    United States
    My recollection of Odyssey is that JLT did exactly what he was brought in to do... make Yngwie’s music a bit more commercial to widen the audience. (Exactly what Blackmore brought him in to do with Rainbow.)

    Yeah, there’s some stuff that might be a bit cliche for the time, but that’s what was getting wider attention then in hard rock and metal if you wanted radio/video play to help push album sales. So good on Joe for doing his job and helping Malmsteen grow a bit (at least temporarily) beyond just the guitar fanatics.

    But then you have heavier stuff like Rising Force and Deja Vu, and Yngwie gets to have his instrumental workouts with Krakatau and Bite The Bullet. (Thumbs up for Memories, too, which I always loved.)

    Malmsteen may not like the album (he said Joe softened the sound or some such thing), but to me it was the perfect meeting of Malmsteen’s obvious guitar talents with someone who could help shape them into more melodic songs that had a chance of getting more attention at that time.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2020
  7. johnny q

    johnny q Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen County, NJ
    Yeah I agree. AND that is an insult to blind monkey's everywhere, cause they probably could have mixed it better.:) It's sad - it seemed he stopped caring about the fidelity standpoint sometime around War To End All Wars - which is the worst sounding album I have ever heard. It's makes St. Anger's drum sound, sound like Zeppelin IV.
     
  8. Anthrax

    Anthrax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    I reckon he could if he put his mind to it. The guy's not lacking skills or knowledge when it comes to music, but for some reason he seems to think that mining the same niche over and over is the thing to do. I wish he challenged himself every once in a while and tried different things.
     
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  9. Anthrax

    Anthrax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Wonderful song, just wonderful. Bonnet and Malmsteen knocked it out of the park.

    No Parole From Rock 'N' Roll is a bonafide classic in my world.
     
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  10. Anthrax

    Anthrax Forum Resident

    Location:
    Europe
    Yngwie should be nothing but proud of Odyssey. Definitely one of his best albums, and one of the best in the genre without a doubt. He must have his head wayyyy up his own **** to blame JLT. What did he expect JLT was going to do? Bark like James Hetfield?
     
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  11. samohtben

    samohtben columnated ruins domino

    Location:
    NC USA
    Spot on! I agree completely. And sorry YJM, there ain't a thing soft about "Rising Force" the song.
     
  12. Devin

    Devin Time's Up

    So much bitching about Yngwie. It's funny. Clapton has been playing basically the same recycled blues solo his entire career yet no one complains. And EVH with his usual fret tapping for decades, no one bitches. But Yngwie gets hell for doing what he does best, what he can do better than anyone else.

    The man has amazing chops, he created a new genre of music and perhaps most importantly he has the most beautiful vibrato technique on the planet (now that Holdsworth is gone) but still he's trashed as if he's got no talent whatsoever.

    People continually say ridiculous things like "His playing is all flash and no feeling" as if the two were mutually exclusive. Vladimir Horowitz would've had a lot to say to those people. He played astonishingly fast yet he played every note with emotion. Yngwie does the same. If you can't feel it that doesn't mean it's not there.

    Many top guitarists (Vai, Satriani, Paul Gilbert and Marty Friedman among others) have publicly stated that Yngwie is an amazing guitarist, that they admire his technique and cannot do what he does. These guitarists give credit where credit is due.

    It's perfectly fine to dislike neoclassical metal. I understand it's not for everyone. But Yngwie's talent is undeniable whether you like him or not. Trashing the man won't change that. It just makes the one doing the trashing look insecure and perhaps even jealous at times.
     
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  13. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I don't doubt his talent but I highly doubt I'd even slightly like Yngwie Malmsteen. If he had great songs to back up the guitar playing I almost certainly would have heard him.
     
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  14. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I do!
     
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  15. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    The choices in this case are ;

    1) You're deaf.
    2) You don't play seriously.
    3) You don't know half of the man's career.

    I vote for all 3 but at least #3 is factually easy to confirm.
     
  16. Devin

    Devin Time's Up

    Ok. If you say so.
     
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  17. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I've listened to a number of his albums and I find them pretty much all weak and pure cheese except for the odd good track and strangely, an album that flew under the radar that is strangely damn good where Malmsteen actually performs more melodic solos. Surprising, I know. The album is Seventh Sign with Scott Soto as the singer.

    Aside from that, the tune Leviathan is terrific and the Fugue from his Classical crossover project was terrific.
     
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  18. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    4. What he does isn't appealing to the listener.

    Edit: I thought you meant Yngwie, but for me post 1970 Clapton is the same.
     
  19. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I'd find that hard to believe. The guy played/wrote/produced electronica, classical, musical scores, pop, reggae, blues, etc.

    If anyone thinks I Shot The Sheriff and Change The World (just to take 2 songs most people would know) sound remotely the same, that's a surprising claim to make!
     
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  20. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I don't think he's all the same and I admit there's loads I haven't heard, but I really dislike his 80s stuff, the 70s clips from Old Grey Whistle Test, Wonderful Tonight, I Shot The Sheriff, Cocaine and Unplugged. All that just doesn't move me at all. I'm not a guitarist or usually a fan of guitar solos though. I'm sure I'd like his music a lot more if I was, but I know at least two excellent guitarists who dislike him after the 60s.

    I don't know Change The World!
     
  21. mando_dan

    mando_dan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Beverly, MA
    36 seconds is all I need.
     
  22. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    To keep this on track, Malmsteen always has veered here and there.

    Even though I'm sick of hearing him play scales 99% of the time, he has branched out and played some lovely classical guitar pieces, played on a classical crossover record (which I already mentioned), and also tried his hand (and failed miserably) at playing Blues.
     
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  23. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    It was a #1 hit. Specifically chose it for comparison's sake. Played to death on the radio and written along with Babyface.

     
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  24. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    And this is the Fugue from Malmsteen I mentioned upthread. Nice piece!

     
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  25. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    To be fair, writing with Babyface and getting a number one is totally unexpected.
     
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