JENNIFER BATTEN'S TRIBAL RAGE |
|
It's great to hear that girls can play guitar too. Jennifer Batten must be one of the best female guitarists in the world. At least I haven't heard her equal. She is playing in the same vein as Jeff Beck, Steve Morse, Joe Satriani, Van Halen and most of all Steve Vai. It's understandably why she got the job on stage with Michael Jackson. This is her second solo album on Mondo Congo Records. Her first was called "Above, Below and Beyond". Jennifer is a virtuoso with the guitar, known for her two hand hammering technique, and by her side she's got to other masters on their instruments. It's bassist Ricky Wolking, who is doing a hell of a job on this CD, and drummer Glen Sobel. But although "guitar music" easily can be very boring if it's done the wrong way, this never tends to be tiring. Here are just great melodies and the music is constantly changing. Just check out "Wodaabe Dancer", "Elephant Stomp", "Zulu Wedding" and "Scottsman in the Carribean" and you know what I mean. And the cool and groovy slap bass on "Unplug this". This CD has got 7 smoking instrumental tracks and Jennifer is coming out of the smoke as a true guitar hero. You can order the CD through the website http://www.batten.com Released on MONDO CONGO (MCR-0123) -Reviewed by Greger R nnqvist- |
JENNIFER BATTEN |
Track listing: 1. Flight Of The Bumble Bee 2. Ya Ain't Nothin' Like a Fast Car 3. Wanna be Startin' Somethin' 4. Respect 5. Cat Fight 6. Headbangers Hairspray 7. Whammy Damage 8. Secret Lover 9. Voo Doo 10. Cruzin' the Nile 11. Tar-Zenz Day Off 12. Giant Steps 13. Mental Graffiti This is the debut solo album from Steve Vai's female counterpart, Jennifer Batten. Jennifer is known as the guitar player on Michael Jackson's tours, and this solo album is recorded right after Michael Jackson's Bad Tour. The highlights on this album is "Cat Fight" where you can hear the cats (interpreted by Jennifer's guitar) scratch, snarl, miaow and their yells of pain, "Giant Steps" written by the jazz-master John Coltrane and "Mental Graffiti". There's also three other covers on this CD. It's the classic Rimsky-Korsakov composition "Flight Of The BumbleBee", Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and Otis Redding's "Respect". A special mentioning would go to the beautiful cover painting by Pamelina Hovnatanian. The painting is a true work of art. This album is almost as good as her second solo release, Jennifer Batten's Tribal Rage "Momentum" from 1997. "Momentum" though contains a better guitar sound, but apart from that the two releases are rather equal. A good investment if you're into great guitar music with similarities to Steve Morse, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen. You can order the CD through Jennifer Batten's website : http://www.batten.com -Reviewed by Greger Rönnqvist- |