Shawn Lane - Powers of Ten Live
List Price:
Our Price: $41.54
You Save: $4.44 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $36.98 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
CD Details
Artist: Shawn LaneEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Extra tracks, Import, Live
CD Release Date: 2001-05-23
Music Label: King Japan
Soundtracks:
- Esperanto
- Gray Pianos Flying
- Black Market
- West Side Boogie
- Epilogue for Lisa
- Illusions
- Get You Back
- Not Again
- Drum & Guitar Solo
- Tri-Heaven
- Hardcase
- Drum Solo, Pt. 1
- Drum Solo, Pt. 2
- Tri 7/5
- Rules of the Game [*]
Music reviews of Powers of Ten Live
Music Review: Expensive And Worth Every Penny!
Rating: 5 Stars
How can it be that when I listen to Powers Of Ten Live I feel both joy and sorrow, elation and depression, hope and hopelessness, and great awe. What causes these extreme opposites in emotion? Well, that's easy, because no matter the positive emotion I may be feeling while listening to this album, in the back of mind I know this man is no longer alive, and will never again write another piece of music. Even putting that in words for this review is difficult to accept. I consider Shawn Lanes death one of the worst losses of the 20th/21st century. Shawn was a genius musician in the same vein as Alan Holdsworth, Aaron Copeland, Bach, Beethoven, Jimi Hendrix etc. While I will always be grateful for the music Shawn made while he was alive, I will forever wonder about what could have been.
I discovered Shawn back in the late 80's when at that time the only way to hear the man was to see him live and through rare bootleg recordings. Technically he of course floored me. I could not believe what I was hearing, I did not think anyone could play that fast. As a guitar player in the 80's I was obsessed with speed, but as I got older I learned to appreciate other aspects of lead guitar playing, such as tone, phrasing, note selection, rhythm, and timing. Shawn had all of that in spades. So many guitar players focus only on his speed, and at 18 notes per second he is the fastest guitar player to have ever lived. But there is so much more to the man than his fast playing. Unfortunately so many guitar players are extremely immature and turn guitar playing into some kind of competition, where it's all about who's faster than who. I suppose if that's all you care about then Shawn is your man, but you will be missing the genius of this musician if that's all you focus on.
I bought Powers Of Ten almost the day it was released and listened to it every day for about a year. That is no lie, I went through a couple of cassette tapes (remember those?) because I was obsessed with the album. It still ranks as the most treasured album in very large CD collection to this day. It was with Powers that we were exposed to the "real" Shawn Lane, a man of great musical depth and understanding. The man wrote music, sophisticated, extremely technical yet beautiful compositions. Power of Ten contains lots of draw dropping guitar playing, but it is far from a shred guitar type album. Even more stunning on Powers is that Shawn played most of the instruments on the album with the exception of guest musicians on drums and bass for a couple of songs. His keyboard playing was as spectacular as his guitar playing. The only musician I know of who is equally proficient in both is Tony Macalpine.
Powers of Ten Live is a true treat. Despite the comments of other reviewers I think the sound of the album is quite good, considering when it was recorded and the limited budget the man had to work with. This is not some tin can sounding bootleg CD which is how some reviewers would have you think with their complaints. Shawn plays everything from Powers of Ten with the exception of Powers of Ten suite, Piano Concertino: Transformation of Themes (I was disappointed with this omission), and Paris (another song I would have loved to hear live). Shawn stretches his legs on the studio versions of the songs, especially the incredibly melodic and beautiful extended guitar solo at the end of Get You Back. Shawn doesn't miss a beat and neither does his fantastic band, especially the incredible drumming of Sean Rickman (who also played on the studio version of Powers). The band is just so tight and locked in. Not only were they incredibly well rehearsed, but they let the music breath in a way only musicians who are 100% in sync with one another can. We also get three tunes from the Tri-Tone Fascination, with one of my favorite Shawn Lane songs, Tri 7/5. The song opens with a beautiful, almost haunting chord progression that just moves me to the core. Shawn's solo guitar piece is as expected, mind blowing, with wide intervallic stretches mixed with impossible speed picking (and probably lots of hybrid picking too). As is the case with much of Shawn's solo guitar playing, it sounds other worldly and alien like, and truly inhuman.
I could go on and on here, and you might think I'm being overly dramatic, but my admiration, respect, and awe of Shawn Lane's talents knows no bounds. A musician's musician, yet equally as accessible to non-musicians. If you have even a passing interest in fusion style music, and want to hear the most technically gifted guitar player to have ever lived, you owe it to yourself to cough up the money for this album. I would purchase it at three times the price and still consider it a bargain.
Hard Rock & Metal CDs
Music Genres
Similar CDs
Michael Shrieve - Two DoorsRelease date: 2006-01-24; Music CD
Best price: $26.91
Jens Johansson - FissionRelease date: 2002-01-08; Music CD
Best price: $19.06
Price in other shops:
Temporal Analogues of ParadiseRelease date: 2003-05-13; Music CD
Best price: $12.32
Price in other shops:
Jonas Hellborg - ParisRelease date: 2004-06-22; DVD
Best price: $13.54
Price in other shops:
Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane - PersonaeRelease date: 2002-02-26; Music CD
Best price: $14.48
Price in other shops:
Jonas Hellborg;Shawn Lane;V. Selvaganesh - Good People in Times of EvilRelease date: 2000-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $8.06
Price in other shops:
Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane - Icon - A Transcontinental GatheringRelease date: 2003-01-21; Music CD
Best price: $12.09
Price in other shops:
Time Is the EnemyRelease date: 2004-03-30; Music CD
Best price: $14.58
Price in other shops:
Jonas Hellborg, Shawn Lane - ZenhouseRelease date: 1999-11-09; Music CD
Best price: $11.43
Price in other shops:
Shawn Lane - Tritone FascinationRelease date: 2006-07-25; Published: 2000; Music CD
Best price: $16.24
Price in other shops: