STEVE STEVENS
Flamenco A Go-Go (Ark 21)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Steve Stevens is the guitarist who made Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" shout, and supplied the soil, if not the soul, for Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana." You know, your basic burner - fast fingered and fully amped. Or was. After undertaking a study of flamenco style guitar, Stevens has set aside the electric guitar (although he's hardly abandoned electronics) and produced a modern dance classic with nylon strings. Combining acoustic guitar with state of the art electronic beats and MIDI technology, the range of sounds Stevens pulls from his classical guitar might sometimes sound electric, but never are. The combination of guitar and studio wizardry create a synthesis that's likely to create new fans for the more traditional styles he adopts for this one, but unlikely to disappoint fans of his earlier work. Because electric or acoustic, Steve Stevens is still a burner. It's pretty much all Steve Stevens and his studio here, except for an appearance by Howard Jones' piano on "Letter To A Memory," Vinnie Colaiuta's drums on a pair of tracks and a vocal appearance by Faudel, a rai artist from France, on "Hanina." The guest spots add their own flavors to their tracks, but it's something that's not really missed when they're absent. Stevens has created a full sound and a new musical world that requires little in the way of augmentation. All he really needs is an audience open to a new idea. Be part of that audience.

Track List:

Flamenco A Go-Go * Cinecitta * Our Man In Istanbul * Letter To A Memory * Feminova * Velvet Cage * Hanina * Dementia * Twilight In Your Hands * Riviera 68

© 2000 - Shaun Dale