Kollman, Jeff: East of Heaven

Upon first listen you are captured by the tunefulness of the tracks. As a guitarist, it brings a smile to my face to hear the wonderful phrasing and technique, but you are never left feeling like Kollman is out to show off his chops (which are plentiful), because the focus is on melody. If you told Kollman he could only use these four notes, he’d come up with a great tune. His heart appears firmly in the classic rock realm (Beck and Trower come to mind), but he also possesses a modern vocabulary. Kollman’s main gig is with rock legend Alan Parsons, and he has also played with Glenn Hughes, Phil Mogg, and his instrumental band Cosmosquad among others.

You get plenty of rockers, such as “Superstring Theory�, and “Mass Exodus� which bury themselves in your brain with infectious melodies. Kollman shows many sides to his playing, his acoustic work in songs “Insomnia�, “So Long Ago� and “See You on the Other Side� is simply gorgeous. He has so many sides to his playing; you get to hear a true master at work. “Ghostly� takes a slow groove and builds and builds to a monster crescendo with Kollar torturing his guitar at about 3:30 mark, going for broke. I love the layered guitars, everything sounds full and rich, which also make the sparse moments more compelling. “67 XR-7� adds organ and keys to give Kollman even more range and dynamics to play over; this is a personal favorite from the disc. “Montecantini Waltz� is a jazzy acoustic number which will have you tapping your toes, and if you want your head blown off, the title track and “Hidden Dimensions� show off Kollman’s arsenal of licks, prepare to be blown away.

With all the amazing guitarists, it is hard to stand apart from the pack, but Kollman’s skillful compositions give him an edge over the shredders of today. The CD is a diverse collection, presenting many styles and moods, East of Heaven shows that Kollman is Master of All Trades and a jack of none.

Track Listing

1. Loss (1:56)
2. The Mass Exodus (6:35)
3. Homage To King Edward (1:13)
4. Superstring Theory (4:53)
5. Insomnia (2:29)
6. Ghostly (4:49)
7. 67 XR-7 (4:45)
8. Montecatini Waltz (5:24)
9. Isolation 2020 (3:45)
10. East Of Heaven (4:34)
11. So Long Ago (3:51)
12. Hidden Dimensions (4:34)
13. The Darkness Resides (4:57)
14. See You On The Other Side (5:21)

Added: May 19th 2021
Reviewer: Eric Porter
Score:
Related Link: Artist Website
Hits: 1530
Language: english

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