Brian Tarquin - 2024 - Beyond The Warrior's Eyes

(39:26; Brian Tarquin)

Following on from the success of ‘Brothers In Arms’, here we have the next in Tarquin’s series of collaborations when he is looking to raise money for charity. He plays all instruments except drums, where studio percussionist Reggie Pryor lends his services, as well as composing the music, engineering and producing the final result. The album’s mission is to support ‘Hope For The Warriors’, who provide medical, mental health, and professional services for ill and injured Marines and Navy members, and to assist in that he brought in a real star-studded line-up. Musically this is prog fusion we have some stars from that scene as well as others who are not normally associated with this style of music: Jean-Luc Ponty, Eric Johnson, Robben Ford, Steve Morse (Deep Purple), Dean Brown (David Sanborn), Hal Lindes (Dire Straits), Chris Poland (Megadeth), John Tropea (Billy Cobham), Steve Kindler (Jeff Beck), Carl Verheyen (Supertramp), Larry McCray (John Mayall), Phil Naro, and the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

Perhaps it is not surprising that the musicians who tend to play more with feeling than shredding or blasting riffs are the ones who have most success, with the two real highlights being the title cut with Jean-Luc Ponty and “Quiet Desperation” with Robben Ford. They listen to what is required and the bring in the soul and emotion which is needed to go with the backing music. People like Chris Poland have a blast, certainly working outside their normal musical territory but they do somewhat miss the mark to my ears. The end result is something that at times contains some magic but for the most part is prog fusion with little in the way of real life or vitality. Probably more for fans of the musicians involved as opposed to the genre.  

Kev Rowland, April 2024

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