This is the 2011 self named debut album of instrumental supergroup The Aristocrats. A textbook exercise in instrumental rock. No overdubs, just virtuoso guitar, bass and drums playing fusion infused rock.
The Aristocrats is a band platform designed to show off the musical talents of Guthrie Govan on guitar, Bryan Beller on bass, and Marco Minnemann on drums. Each of them a well known and respected session player in their own right before coming together for this band. It’s a collection of nine tracks, three each supplied by each player. Because Beller’s bass has a very bassy tone (yes, that’s right), with hardly any high end, it’s Govan’s guitar that takes up the majority of the audio spectrum and does the main job of carrying the music. No overdubs means that you’re really just listening to an hour of a single guitar player supported by a world class rhythm section. It’s a tribute to Govan’s incredible ability and imagination that he pulls it off. I’m a great admirer of his tone, slightly distorted with much twang and articulation, rather than the over compressed and saturated tone of most contemporary shredders. This is not to denigrate the other two musicians, Minnemann’s ability to follow every twist and turn of Govan’s formidable playing is quite remarkable, while Beller plays an excellent supporting role. I suppose my only real disappointment is that his tone is so low that it leaves the bass line somewhat indistinct. It would have been nice to have him a little more Chris Squire, if you know what I mean. The production is just as it should be for this kind of album: transparent. If you noticed it, it would be wrong.
I usually find instrumental rock albums, especially by virtuoso guitarists, incredibly boring. I’ve never really been able to get into Joe Satriani or Steve Vai for instance. Endless super-fast legato playing is certainly an impressive stunt, but it’s entirely orthogonal to whether the music is enjoyable. Being able to move your fingers really really fast does not automatically mean that you can write a good tune. Frequently, the egotistical desire to impress with virtuosity means that the question of whether the music is actually enjoyable gets left behind, and endless concentration on technique leaves the player overly focussed on that narrow aspect to the detriment of all else. Where virtuoso rock instrumentals work, they usually have the input of someone more interested in composition - Zappa here is a good example, or it’s the product of a usually song focussed group simply taking a self-indulgent excursion, such as Rush’s YYZ. It’s odd really that rock music has this blind spot. I can think of plenty of wholly instrumental jazz albums that I love, and of course there’s the whole enormous instrumental tradition of classical music.
This record certainly has its forgettable moments (Blues Fuckers being top of this list), but for the most part it manages to avoid the usual self indulgences. Maybe Govan and co have listened to enough instrumental rock to know the pitfalls? I think a bit part of its success is it’s sense of not taking itself too seriously and the humour that runs through it. The track titles alone, “I Want A Parrot”, “Sweaty Knockers”, “Blues Fuckers”, make the point. The music too has a real sense of fun. Govan will move effortlessly from a blistering hammer run to a cheeky little ditty with a metaphorical nod and wink. I’ve watched some YouTube live performances where they break off drums, bass and guitar to play squeaky rubber chickens. It all says, “please just enjoy this for its own sake and don’t take us too seriously.” Sure music can be profound, but it should also be fun.
This is one of those records that I kept coming back to for just one track, Bad Asteroid, before coming slowly to love the whole thing. It has the strongest and most immediately memorable melody as well as one of the most astonishing pieces of guitar playing I’ve ever heard on the legato section after the main melody. If you’re coming to this record for the first time, listen to this first. My second favorite is Furtive Jack, a brilliant showpiece of the album’s humour. A very cheeky little ditty that quickly evolves into a wonderful piece of counterpoint. I Want A Parrot showcases Bryan Beller with a wonderful bass and guitar jam where the bass takes the lead role. The album is full of surprising little musical moments that only come into focus with repeated listenings. Indeed, it’s usually a sign of something above the ordinary, that one’s first listen leaves one somewhat confused and unsure, but you keep coming back and each time discover something new.
So yes, instrumental rock, a usually rather sad category, really gets a notable boost from The Aristocrats. If you have any love of the electric guitar it’s one worth persevering with.