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MJBrady Published on: 22 Jan 2004 For PROGGNOSIS Nice to see that this fusion trio from Greece is still creating music, I found the first Confusion cd - Genesis a very appealing mixture of progressive and fusion musics, and that theme continues with this, the bands second release. And as was the case with the first cd, they again provide a variable assembly of musics that encompass a wide array of influences. Achilleas Diamantis, is the bands leader, his guitar tones are every bit as diverse as the bands music is. Though fans of smooth legato fusion guitar should be taking notice of this cd, as Diamantis can deliver the Holdsworth vibe at the flick of the wrist. But unlike some of the other AH cloning experiments, Diamantis prevails to be equally influenced by other styles of guitar and musical idioms. The cd can read like a muscial sampler for the history of Fusion music, song 1 - Quarter Past Three starts slow, but gains momentum, giving way to what sounds like a vintage Brand X cut, only instead of Goodsalls' guitars, he lends more of a Holdsworth feel to the soloing parts. Some fluid and melodic bass work by Panagiotis Haramis, who shines on the whole cd here. Song 2 - Spanish Way is perhaps my favorite track on the cd, with an obvious hint of Spanish flamenco inspiration, the song goes the way of a DiMeola instrumental from his older era. Song 3 - Tripfall, find the band in a hardrock/fusion territory. With some nice funk bits fitted between the breaks, this is the third consecutive song that shows Diamantis' well rounded legato technique, as he proves to be a superb soloist. Song 4 - Enter Alone, this is the title cut here, very thematic and mellow, also a vocal tune that features the soft female voice of Kristieanne Travers, the song is a drastic turn away from the first 3 fusion numbers, and stays mellow for the duration of the song, Diamantis plays straight jazz, much in the vein of Pat Metheny this time, and again revealing his versatility as a well-schooled musician. Song 5 - VooDoo, This is a choppy, technically challenging song, odd time signatures, and a heavy tone takes the band firmly back to the harder edged fusion heard on earlier cuts. This song offers bassist - Haramis, to give a sample of his deft soloing skills, which lead into yet another Holdsworthian lead solo by Diamantis. It should be no surprise that Confusion's music is featured at Holdsworth's - Gnarly Geezer records site. At times this arrangement reminds me of some of Frank Gambales' moments with the Elektric Band, very cool song. Song 6 - Cacophony Blues, pretty apt name for this mutation on the blues standard, with Diamantis showing yt another voice on his guitar, compared with what I heard on this cd so far, this song seems somewhat detached apart from the jazz/fusion stuff. Song 7 - Pico 'n Hoover - This is the most abstract and improvised song on the cd, sounding as if the bands was just doing some warm ups, and spinning the recorder while doing so. Song 7 - Edge of the World, surprisingly, the cd ends ina very different manner than how it started as this song tails away into a peaceful soundscape of jazz chord phrasings, here again you hear Diamantis dabbling with the sound of Pat Metheny. As you may see in these musings, this cd offers a few different takes on jazz and fusion, all the while featuring Diamantis' wide range of style mastery on the guitar, yet many listeners may find it difficult to accept the transitions from hard fusion, to the mellower songs, not that the songs are bad in any way, as typically, the broad scope of jazz fans have their borders, one that very few fans on one side or the other are so willing to cross, snjobbery is prominent on both sides of the fence, yet what Confusion opted to inject equal amounts of both, so you take the jazz with the fusion, or vice versa, whichever you prefer, if you like both? Double the fun. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Performers Achilleas Diamantis Guitars, Keyboards -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Panagiotis Haramis Bass -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Takis Intas Drums -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GUESTS: Kristieanne Travers Vocals on 4 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stratos Diamantis Keyboard solo on 2,5 Check out the artist's website: http://www.confusionmusic.com Track List: 1. Quarter past three 2. Spanish way 3. Tripfall 4. Enter Alone 5. Voodoo 6. Cacophony blues 7. Old Times 8. Edge of the world 9. Pico 'n' Hoover Other Genres:
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