The Guitar Channel

Favorite Albums of 2012

2012 was a tremendous year for progressive guitar music. Here are my favorite releases of the year, in no particular order.

 

Michael Landau - Organic Instrumentals

Landau's first instrumental album since 1990's Tales From The Bulge is one of my favorite guitar records in many years, let alone this one. Awesome tones, dynamic playing, deep writing. A must-have for serious guitar geeks.

Wayne Krantz - Howie 61

Krantz took a bold new step with this album, and the results are rich and engrossing. A fantastic production filled with heady writing, and an amazing lineup of musicians.

Jimmy Herring - Subject To Change Without Notice

Awesome follow-up to 2008's Lifeboat. Highly textured with killer playing and grooves.

Alex Machacek, Raphael Preuschl, Herbert Pirker - FAT

Adventurous and dynamic with a great variety of guitar tones. Further proof that Machacek is among the most forward-thinking modern jazz composers of his generation.

Kurt Rosenwinkel - Star of Jupiter

Can't get enough of this one. Uber-deep jazz record, filled with great writing and improvisation.

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Live Meat And Potatoes

Funky, energetic live release with killer guitar work from Jeff Kollman. Nobody grooves like the Meatbats.

OHMPhrey - Posthaste

Stellar recording from the OHM-meets-Umphrey's McGee supergroup. Loaded with great riffs and playing. Everybody shines here, but the twin guitar attack of Chris Poland and Jake Cinninger is particularly awesome.

Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin, Dennis Chambers - HBC

What a band. Killer disc packed with guitar-driven trio versions of fusion classics. Henderson is amazing as always.

Karizma - Perfect Harmony

A 3-disc smorgasbord from keyboardist/composer David Garfield's classic west coast jazz band. Features a who's-who of the genre's luminaries, including Michael Landau.

The Aristocrats - Boing, We'll Do It Live!

Amazing live CD/DVD release with insane playing and band interplay. Guthrie Govan's guitar work is both musical and mind-blowing.

Other favorites from 2012:

Prashant Aswani - Visions
Chris Poland, Frank Catalano, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Jim Gifford - Polcat
Tribal Tech - X
Tohpati Bertiga - Riot
John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension - Now Here This
Paul Gilbert - Vibrato
Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful, Vol. 2
OHM - Tsunami Jams
Ed DeGenaro - Holiday In Madras
Flying Colors
Chad Wackerman - Dreams, Nightmares and Improvisations
Chris Buck - 3 Crows
Jason Sadites - Broken
Renegade Creation - Bullet
Led Zeppelin - Celebration Day
Van Halen - A Different Kind of Truth (Ed note: \m/)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2011
Favorite Albums of 2010
Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006

Current Listening

Some great music I've been listening to lately...

Tohpati Bertiga - Riot

Awesome rock fusion trio from Indonesia. Guitarist Tohpati is super-tasty with great chops and tones. The writing has occasional shades of Wayne Krantz, only heavier.

Matt Resnicoff - The History Of Now

Highly adventurous debut from the one-time music journalist. Resnicoff plays a vast array of instruments across 23 tracks, produced by and co-starring Mike Keneally. A veritable stream of consciousness.

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - Live Meat And Potatoes

Killer double live album recorded at the Baked Potato in 2009. Dripping with grooves. Outstanding guitar work from Jeff Kollman.

The Crane & Fabian Project - No Limits

All-star modern jazz record featuring Mike Miller, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Mitch Forman, Eric Marienthal and others.

JEFF KOLLMAN Schedules L.A. Festival Appearance; New Solo and BOMBASTIC MEATBATS Releases

PRESS RELEASE

April 16, 2012 - Acclaimed guitarist Jeff Kollman (COSMOSQUAD, GLENN HUGHES, MOGG/WAY) is scheduled to perform at the One World Art and Music Festival at Hummingbird Nest Ranch, 2940 Kuehner Drive, Simi Valley, CA 93063 on Saturday April 21 at 7 p.m.. Proceeds from the appearance will benefit guitar legend Jason Becker who has been living with ALS for the past 20 years. Other performers include former MEGADETH lead guitarist Chris Poland and OHM, Kirk Fletcher, Edwin Alpanian, among others. More information is available from http://bluedotmission.com/Festival_Program.html

 

On the release front, Kollman's new solo album, 'Silence In The Corridor', whose title track is a tribute to the late, great Gary Moore, available in streaming audio at this location http://soundcloud.com/marmadukerecords/04-silence-in-the-corridor-1, is receiving its worldwide digital release on April 16.  Physical product is available through Kollman's long running label imprint Marmaduke Records.  Contributing musicians on the album include drummers Shane Gaalaas (B'z, COSMOSQUAD), Jono Brown, and Joel Taylor (OHM, Allan Holdsworth), bassists Ric Fierabracci (COSMOSQUAD, PLANET X), Kevin Chown (Tarja Turunen, BOMBASTIC MEATBATS), and Jimmy Johnson (Allan Holdsworth, Roger Waters), as well as keyboardists Lao Tizer and Ed Roth (BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, Glenn Hughes).   The track listing reads as follows:

 

01. Cosmo Ray Vaughn 
02. West Coast Swagger 
03. One Last Remark 
04. Silence In The Corridor (tribute to Gary Moore)
05. Steer Clear Of The Border Town 
06. Song For James 
07. The New Nightmare 
08. Afghan Headtrip 
09. Time And The Inevitable 
10. A Day Of Mourning
11. Unforgettable (dedicated to Helen Kollman)  

 

 

L.A. all-stars THE BOMBASTIC MEATBATS, featuring Jeff Kollman, Kevin Chown, Ed Roth and newly Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inducted drummer Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, Glenn Hughes) have set at a May 21 release date for their explosive double live CD set, titled 'Live Meat And Potatoes.'  Recorded locally in 2011 at the legendary Baked Potato, the album includes tracks from both the band's studio albums, 'Meet The Meatbats' and 'More Meat', including a reinterpretation of the LED ZEPPELIN classic, 'Moby Dick.'  Physical copies will be available from www.jeffkollman.com on April 23.  The track listing reads as follows:

 

Disc 1:
01. Oops I Spilled My Beer

02. Passing the Ace

03. Mountain Of Meat

04. The Gunboat Is On!

05. Nightsweats

06. Tops Off

07. Pigs Feet

08. Need Strange

 Disc 2:

 09. Deathmatch 

10. Battle For Ventura Blvd 

11. Moby Dick

12. Shilo's Forbidden City Blues

13. Breadballs

14. Lobster Legs

15. Into The Floyd 

 

 

Jeff Kollman online:

www.jeffkollman.com

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats - "Live Meat And Potatoes" Available April 23rd

Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats have a new double live album on the way entitled Live Meat And Potatoes. The digital release date is May 21st, though advanced CD copies will be available through Meatbats guitarist Jeff Kollman's website on April 23rd. The Meatbats feature Kollman, Chad Smith (drums), Ed Roth (keys), and Kevin Chown (bass).

Video: The Bombastic Meatbats - Lobster Legs

The Bombastic Meatbats performing "Lobster Legs" at a recent Baked Potato gig. With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on Keys, and Kevin Chown on bass.

Videos: Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats - Live on The Drum Channel

Several performance and interview videos from the Bombastic Meatbats' August 11th broadcast on the Drum Channel. With Chad Smith - drums, Jeff Kollman - guitar, Ed Roth - keys, and Kevin Chown - bass.

Video: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Baked Potato 7/22/11 "Oh! I Spilled My Beer"

The Bombastic Meatbats playing "Oh! I Spilled My Beer" at the Baked Potato on 7/22/11. With Jeff Kollman - guitar, Kenny Aronoff - drums, Kevin Chown - bass, and Ed Roth - keys.

Videos: Cosmosquad Japan Relief Concert - Live at The Baked Potato

"Numena" from Cosmosquad's Japan Relief Concert at the Baked Potato on May 27th 2011. With Jeff Kollman on guitar, Shane Gaalaas on drums, and Ric Fierabracci on bass. Many special guests sat in for this gig including Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats, Kenny Aronoff, Tim Lefebvre, and others. Let's hope some more footage pops up.

UPDATE

"Slowburn" with Ed Roth on keyboards.

Video: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Iridium 4/22/11 "Mountain of Meat"

More of the Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith at the Iridium in NY on 4/22/11. This is the appropriately titled "Mountain of Meat." With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, and Kevin Chown on bass.

Video: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Iridium 4/22/11

Here's the Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith playing "Oh! I Spilled My Beer" at the Iridium in NY on 4/22/11. With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, and Kevin Chown on bass.

NAMM Videos: Chad Smith's Bombastic Meatbats

Three videos of the Bombastic Meatbats during this year's winter NAMM show. With Chad Smith on drums, Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys and Kevin Chown on bass. The last clip is a cool soundcheck video featuring bassist Tim Lefebvre sitting in.

Sabian Live 2011 NAMM Party - "Passing The Ace"

QSC NAMM 2011 Party soundcheck - "Tops Off"

Sabian Live 2011 NAMM Party soundcheck with Tim Lefebvre on bass

Favorite Albums of 2010

Looking back over this past year, I really believe 2010 has been the most incredible year in music I've ever experienced. It's certainly been the best year I've seen since I started The Guitar Channel in 2004. On one hand, I've never witnessed as much amazing live music as I have this year. There were the great Winter NAMM gigs (such as OHM w/ Mike Kenneally, Alex Machacek w/ Ric Fierabracci, the Bombastic Meatbats, and more), awesome Chicago gigs by Mike Stern, Allan Holdsworth, and others, and of course the festivals - starting with the incredible Baked Potato 40th Anniversary Jazz Festival in May, the legend-packed Crossroads Guitar Festival in June, and the capper: the amazing New Universe Music Festival last month.

Then of course, there were the great albums of 2010. And there were a lot of them. Here are my favorite albums that were released this year, in no particular order.

Alex Machacek featuring Marco Minnemann - 24 Tales (Review)

A remarkable disc featuring music Machacek composed over a 52-minute Minnemann drum solo.

Michael Landau, Robben Ford, Jimmy Haslip, Gary Novak - Renegade Creation (Review)

Awesome blues rock super group that brings together guitar legends Landau and Ford. Killer playing; amazing guitar tones.

Ray Riendeau - Atmospheres

This one came out of nowhere and really grabbed me. Great collection of fusion tunes with a killer guest list that includes Alex Machacek, Jeff Kollman, Greg Koch, Nat Janoff, and many others.

Lenny White - Anomaly

Fantastic old-school jazz rock album from the legendary drummer. Includes guests Jimmy Herring and David Gilmore.

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Tasty, melodic instrumental rock disc with killer playing and writing. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome throwback fusion with great grooves. Features Jeff Kollman on guitar.

Charlie Hunter - Public Domain

This may seem like an out-of-left-field choice, but I can't get enough of this album. Features Hunter playing solo versions of old public domain classics chosen by his grandfather.

Other favorites from 2010:

Kirk Fletcher - My Turn
John McLaughlin - To The One (Review)
John Czajkowski and Marco Minnemann - West ZooOpolis
Steve Lukather - All's Well That Ends Well
Tetsuo Sakurai - Vital World (Review)
Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom
Michael Dolce - Everything Til Now
Jeff Richman - Like That (Interview)

See Also:

Favorite Albums of 2009
Favorite Albums of 2008
Favorite Albums of 2007
Favorite Albums of 2006