| CD REVIEW Marty Friedman |
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Band : Marty Friedman Our last acquaintance with this fantastic guitarist (and I’ve known him since his beginning days, not just from when most people learned about him during his tenure with major label players Megadeth), was with the Loudblast album, review posted 02/12/2006 in which we threw a short history story. Unbeknownst to me, and therefore added here, is that Marty moved to Japan in 2003. Always a fan of things Japanese, he apparently speaks the language fluently, and was therfore able to become a major force in the music scene of his adopted new country. He became a regular member of the musical TV show Hebimeta San (Anglisized forMr. Heavy Metal) before the show came to an end in 2005, ran his own show Rock Fujijama from April 2006 to March 2007. In recordings related “news”, Marty collaborated in 2004 with Japanese Psychedelic Trance artist Zeta (real name Takeomi Matsuura) on the January 2007 released album Zeta. In 2005, he appeared on the Heavy Metal Thunder video game soundtrack with a track adapted from the Hebimeta San show. Following the release of the Loudspeaker album (which went to #33 in the Japanese national chart, marking the first Top 40 chart position for his solo albums), he collaborated on several projects (including working on 2 songs on Mutsuhiko Izumi’s Heaven Inside album…contributing his voice to a character on the Cartoon Network Adult Swim show Metalocalypse…to the song “Shine” on Luna Sea’s Memorial album…composing a song for the Maria Sama Ga Miteru anime series (2007)…collaborating on the title track of Arizona’s Age Of Evil’s debut album Living A Sick Dream) before releasing his 8th solo album Future Addict on the Japanese Avex Trax label in March 2008 (containing adapted re-recordings from the guitarist’s past, we’re still to see that album being released in Europe). Since then, Marty launched his new J-Rock band Lovefixer with Shinichiro Suzuki on vocals, their first muci video for a track translated as “Luminous”. He also collaborated on some of the more recent releases of Nana Kitade (a Japanese Pop Punk “Gothic Lolita” artist), adding to 3 songs on her November 2007 release Berry Berry Singles, and to 2 songs on the first 2 singles of her side-project Ruby Gloom. He also collaborated to one song of the April 2008 released album Don’t Stay by Japanese TechnoPop singer/ dancer Nami Tamaki, contributed to the 2009 video game Sonic And The Black Knight playing guitar on the track “With Me”. On the side he also made his first step into the movie industry, in 2008 playing the role of an English language teacher in the Isshin Inudou film Gou-Gou datte neko de aru. For Tokyo Jukebox, the guitarist re-worked a collection of 11 J-Pop and one J-Rock track (chosen in part by the readers of Japan’s #1 entertainment magazine Nikkei Entertainment!) to his own characteristic style. Marty himself giving liner notes with each track, I will not get into the details, but just tell you and all those out there who’ve ever frowned at the man’s leanings towards the Japanese J-Pop genre and have looked down on him for being too Poppy or too soft…now stand prooven utterly and completely wrong! Sure, there’s a couple of calmer tracks, and “Romance No Kamisama” with its piano & acoustic guitar (plus some flute) is definitely the album’s ballad instrumental…and the ensuing album closer “Ashita He No Sanka” kinda follows in that mood (but doés contain electrified guitar as well as acoustics and strings – apparently brought by a 70-piece orchestra). Then there’s the Dance beats in “GIFT” which give it that specific non-Metal touch (guitar-wize the track is quite okay though), and there’s a “softer” touch to “Tsunami” (but not without some splashing-good heavier guitar passages either). Still, overall okyo Jukebox is possibly Marty’s heaviest solo album to date! A real fine punch in the face of anyone who’s ever portrayed Marty Friedman as a “softie” in the business of Heavy Metal! I’m not sure where you’ll find audio tracks off this album on the Internet, and hope you’re inventive enough to find your own way for once. Alternatively, ask your local record shop owner to put the album on for you! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!! 99/100 Tony. |