Kingston Wall - II

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Category: Music CD
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CD Details

Artist: Kingston Wall
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 2001-03-13
Music Label: Gar

Music reviews of II

Music Review: THAT'S the sauce!
Rating: 5 Stars

I must have heard a zillion variations on the telltale middle eastern E-F-E progression that anchors all ten glorious minutes of "You", but its a testament to the unbelievable tightness of Kingston Wall that this ensemble left me with the kind of head rush like I had never even heard of a guitar before. If that's not it, then its gotta be the headbanging Donna Summer cover "I Feel Love". This dementia is courtesy of guitfiddle svengali Petri Walli, here anchored by unbelievably tight bass & kit work work by Jukka Jylli and by Sami Kuoppamäki respectively, and peppered with tasty, David Sanborn-like soprano sax by Sakkari Kukko (on "Shine On Me"). The songs themselves are otherworldy acid-drenched jam guitar workouts, tempered with ringing acousticy Zeppelin drama and doe-eyed innocent hippie lyrics - but is played with such incredible energy that it comes off as much tighter and less meandering than it ever should. Indulge a bit of disingenuous praise and meaningless platitudes for just a second - but coming from someone who's played for close to 15 years, and tasted every rock shred variation there is, I have to say the late guitarist/violinist/vocalist Petri Walli is flat out one of the best rock guitarists I have EVER heard. He simply flays listeners alive with orgasmic, every-note-counts solos, unbelievably liquid chord progressions and ridiculously well-constructed, near-perfect song vehicles for his godlike ability. Walli's reedy voice and epic psych tendencies definitely reminds me of Steve Hillage, but he's much closer to a Robin Trower in execution. This band is quite influential on many of their hard rock/metal Scandinavian contemporaries. (If anything's a testament to this band's power, almost singlehandedly turning the warlike, Odin-worshipping Nordic doom grunters Amorphis into incense-burning hippies through pure jam power should provide assurance to even the most foolhardy skeptic.) Any fan of psychadelic rock like Ozric Tentacles, Porcupine Tree, or more venerable 70's institutions like Cream has GOT to have at this in their collection. Heck, buy a few more copies for your groove-starved musician friends and spread the love. It's a damn shame Walli wasnt able to find the strength to combat his inner demons, but at least we have this note-perfect masterpiece to admire after that cold hard fact - seeds of shred for future cosmic farmers to plant and flower for a hungry new generation starving for a little bit of inspiral sunshine.

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