Dark Design. «A Dirty Dozen»

The story so far ...

It was a vanilla day I've been working as composer, arranger, player for other bands, that the funny feeling struck me, it was a simple feeling, a desire to play the guitar again, to play it for me.

I have to confess that, after having been one of the best electric guitar player ever — though I'd admit it is quite a partial opinion although absolutly true — I didn't play or write songs for me and myself.
Some nervous breakdown, could one say...

And, this day I decided that as I was such a bright cat I'd challenge me to write and play directly live a sort of electric parallel of the "Well-Tempered Clavier". In an electric and live way.

The frame was clean : produce 12 pieces, each in one of the 12 minor tones, and not in recycling some stuff I ever had made before but by pure "invention" at the time of the melody lines and direct recording of the solo guitar.

The time limits were equally clean, to keep the closest possible to a "live take" situation. Each piece wouldn't imply more than two hours of work, anything included as: harmonic invention, sequencing, instrumentation, recording of the guitars, mixing and mastering a glass-masterable audiofile.

Some comments :

Not so far of the Blues I was tempted in this one by an union with a free style in Flamenco, that one blue night in Valencia when Paco de Lucia tried and teach me, and also that style for the "Che"...

A "quotations" game, I like to make appear somes shades of Jimi Hendrix, Frank Marino (Mahogany Rush), Satriani.

Listen...

As for the "quotation" part, just a colour touch of Steve Vai, but mostly only the pure pleasure, and challenge, to play with myself as chorist by using the fixed time echo line, which implies to "magically preview the impro".

Light "quotations" in the styles of Gary Moore and Paul Personne.

For lovers like me of Rory Gallagher it is clear to see the filiation of this piece, black, dark as the day Rory died.

Reggae, man, just it. And a poke... A beach, some friends, a guitar, sun, my sea.

In that one I used much of the material I created for "Blue Is Deeper Here" but in a more peaceful tempo (80).

Two tiny winks towards Carlos Devadip. In a blues hard "Irish league" sound. And a cinch symphonic bridge for the showing-off :)

Behind the extremly well achieved puny pun on words I have hopes that the listeners will catch the "Slow Texas flood" ambiance :-)

Though the thin allusion to Clapton, in the title, this almost "hard" blues is mainly based on the idea of FZ playing with "The Sweet". Unlike what many listeners thought, there's only one guitar playing, in one take, the use of this "a la FZ" pick holding gives enough strength to the harmonic stretching.

A raging and melancolic ballad, not to be served to ears that fear dissonants and harmonics. The result may seem an easy game but I swear that a clean coordination of both hands is required for this kind of chorus not to sound flat ...

Dedicated to Roy Buchanan, the most terrific guitar player in false simplicity. I believe and hope I didn't fully failed ;-)
To the curious minds that might have asked them the question: the answer is yes, in the harmonic "marche" I was inspired by a part from "Song for Europe" (Roxy Music), this was not plagiarism but my humble tribute to one of the songs I've been loving the most for, ah, for, well, for long !-)

What if the Chungas were for real ? And if they came back ? What if instead of FZ the guitar players were SRV and Roy ?