Released By : Self Released
Genre : Instrumental Rock, Guitar Virtuoso
Links : http://www.myspace.com/oliverloymusic
Tracklist:
1. Ocean Drive
2. Breaking Through
3. Imagination Island
4. Rollercoaster
5. Naked On A Thursday Afternoon
6. Whatever You Like
7. Wasabi Junkie
8. Eleven
9. Daydream
10. What?
11. Learning The Art Of Love
12. Seven Minutes
13. Save The Earth
There’s a simple fact about the recently released self-titled debut album from guitar virtuoso OLIVER LOY, and that is, if you don’t usually like instrumental guitar albums there’s nothing here to change your mind and really no use in keeping an eye out for it.
Now, we should be left with people that do like instrumental albums and obviously in that make-up we will find fans of JOE SATRIANI, STEVE VAI, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and probably JOHN PETRUCCI also. Let’s get to the point though, if you directly compared OLIVER LOY’S work with that of that of say VAI or SATRIANI it does come up a little short in places, but that doesn’t mean that the album isn’t worth your time or your money. Where guys like VAI stick closer to the typical hard rock sound used for most virtuoso albums, LOY has a tendency to let other influences take centre stage, for example the seventies style prog rock leanings of BREAKING THROUGH, or the flamenco inspired IMAGINATION ISLAND or even the delta blues feel of NAKED ON A THURSDAY AFTERNOON. WHATEVER you like is also great little song with s Texas electric blues feel to it.
Obviously with such a variation is styles, this album is more of a showcase for OLIVER LOY’S talent rather than a really cohesive collective of songs. For the most part this is an enjoyable thing, but sometimes it can be a little hard to listen to all the way through. It’s definitely a worthy effort and to say that this is LOY’S first instrumental album there is obviously huge future potential. I think the album just needed to stick a little closer to a joint sound rather than being so scattered, and occasionally the compositions seem a little empty and drab but I still enjoyed my time with this album and am happy to recommend it to anybody that like instrumental guitar based music, whether it be of the hard rock variety or something else entirely.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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