Greg Howe is an incredibly gifted and inventive guitarist. After debuting in the late '80s with a fresh, funky take on the "shredder" approach to
rock guitar playing on the
Shrapnel Records label, he took a stab at commercial viability with his vocally oriented band
Howe 2. Once
Nirvana and other
punk/
grunge bands came along in 1991 and swept away each and every musical remnant of the indulgent '80s in one swift gesture (the release of
"Smells Like Teen Spirit"), most
rock bands with big hair and noodley guitar solos sulked away with their tails between their legs. But
Greg Howe just went back to doing what he does best: playing guitar in a completely uncompromised fashion. Rather than trying to couch his ideas in commercially palatable
pop-metal songs, he returned to the all-instrumental approach of his first album,
Greg Howe. However, fans will notice a significant change in
Howe's style on
Introspection; aside from the more complex arrangements and
fusion-leaning sound, he's stripped away most of the
heavy metal bombast in favor of a cleaner tone and -- amazingly -- cleaner chops.
Howe's wide-interval scale figures and inspired phrasing -- delivered at light speed -- are truly remarkable. This record recalls the best work of
theDixie Dregs and the more accessible moments of
Allan Holdsworth's solo career.
Howe's playing has evolved so much from his early
Shrapnel days that it's hard to believe it's the same person. On the downside,
Introspection suffers from rather antiseptic production values, and lacks the edge of
Howe's earlier work. Most notably, the triggered drum sounds are totally lame and sacrifice all the dynamic energy of drummer
Kevin Soffera. And
Howe would do well to incorporate some more variety in his guitar tones. But overall, this is a breathtaking showcase of one of the best
rock/
fusion players in the world. ~ Andy Hinds
