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.

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 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.

Videos: The Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Baked Potato

Three Bombastic Meatbats videos from their 3/29/11 gig at the Baked Potato. Some slight audio-sync issues but cool nonetheless.

Shilo's Forbidden City Blues

Greasy Louise / The Battle for Ventura Blvd.

Mountain of Meat

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

Video: Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats - Live at the Iriduim

Chad Smith and the Bombastic Meatbats live at the Iridium in New York last weekend. With Jeff Kollman on guitar, Ed Roth on keys, Kevin Chown on bass, and Smith on drums.

Current Listening (and Reading... and Viewing)

Here's what I've been listening to, and reading, and watching lately...

Bombastic Meatbats featuring Chad Smith - More Meat

Awesome funky throwback fusion. Killer version of "Moby Dick." With Jeff Kollman on guitar.

 

Gary Husband - Dirty & Beautiful Volume 1

Great writing and playing with an incredible guest list. Includes Allan Holdsworth, John McLaughlin, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, Steve Topping, Steve Hackett, and many others.

Ranjit Barot - Bada Boom

Excellent fusion of Indian music and western jazz harmony. Guests include Wayne Krantz, John McLaughlin, Mattias IA Eklund, Matt Garrison, and others.

 

Prashant Aswani - Sonically Speaking (Review)

Highly melodic instrumental rock album with great playing from all involved. Includes guests Brett Garsed and Rob Caggiano.

 

Anil Prasad - Innerviews: Music Without Borders (Book)

Excellent collection of musician interviews from Innerviews founder Anil Prasad. The diverse list of featured artists includes John McLaughlin, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Chuck D, McCoy Tyner, Bela Fleck, and many others. A great read.

 

Eric Clapton - Crossroads Guitar Festival 2010 (Blu-ray)

DVD release of this year's Crossroads Guitar Festival. Loaded with great performances and backstage footage.