Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force - Rising Force
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Free Music Notes for Rising Force
Free Music Review: POSSIBLY THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SHRED ALBUM OF ALL TIME!
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is undoubtably Yngwie Malmsteen's finest. Though I don't really like most of his other albums, I have to say that this one is an absolute classic. While after this album, all his solos sound the same, and his songs turned user friendly, here he was young, raw, and full of creativeness. The other thing I like about this particular album is that it is mostly instrumental. Rather than writing corny lyrics for the sake of it, his guitar does the singing, playing at light speed, while always maintaining a sense of melody. There are 2 songs with singing, but it is minimal, so in the context of the whole album it is not too bad. The other musicians on this one also do an excellent job, pulling all the songs together brilliantly. Standout songs in my opinion are: 'Far Beyond the Sun', 'Evil Eye', 'Icarus Dream Suite Op1' and 'Little Savage'. Just about any shred guitarist would have to name this album among those that have inspired them over the years, so if you're looking to get into Malmsteen, then don't bother with the rest of his albums, go straight to where he started and get this album. You won't regret it.Free Music Review: I Like The Way He Puts Yngwie J. Malmsteen To Distinguish Himself From All The Yngwies In The Business....
Hit: 5 Stars
I remember being in high school in the mid-80's and hearing the tale of this Yngwie Malmsteen character from all my musician buddies. Yngwie Malmsteen? What the hell kinda name is that? Who's this punk from Sweden think he is? I heard the Steeler stuff with Ron Keel and wasn't that impressed. The Alcatrazz stuff was better but Graham Bonnet got on my nerves. Then, out of nowhere, comes Rising Force.... Jesus H. Christ! This little punk from Sweden with the attitude from hell and the fingers forged of lighning really turned some heads, including mine. After snagging Uli Jon Roth licks in Alcatrazz, Yngwie settles down on his own and created one of the most important neo-classical shredder albums of all time. Just listening to it every now and again still fills me with awe. Since most of Rising Force is instrumental, Yngwie never caught on with the chick crowd and therefore never attained Rock God stature. He was more of a mucisian's musician. The two songs that bear lyrics are "As Above, So Below" & "Now Your Ships Are Burned" giving us a glimpse of the coolness that was Jeff Scot Soto on lead vocals. Yngwie's lyrics aren't exactly the best, and they continue into the cheesy all the way into Trilogy, but these are still two of my favorite songs by Yngwie. As far as the rest of the album is concerned, where the instrumentals dominate, there is "Black Star" as the quintessential Yngwie staple. "Far Beyond The Sun" rocks in so many ways that it makes your head reel and the intensity of "Icarus Dream Suite Op. 4" with Yngwie trading licks with keyboardist Jens Johansen is insane. "Evil Eye" is very cool and one of the first songs I ever learned on guitar. "Little Savage" is mostly Yngwie showing off his speed to a pounding, semi-monotonous beat. And "Farewell" is just a little lesson in harmonics. Overall, you wanna hear a pioneer in the guitar shredding community. Yngwie J. Malmsteen's Rising Force is the album to buy. You won't be disappointed. After listening to him, you'll wind up using your guitar as a coffee table, as Spinal Tap's David St. Hubbins once said of The Ynger.
Dig it!
Free Music Review: One in a million
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is one in a million in more ways than one. Yngwie is a one-in-a-million guitarist. He's made about a million records, and this is the best. As far as the songs go, Black Star and Far Beyond the Sun are the most famous though my favorite track is Evil Eye. Evil Eye has a great start/stop neo-classical feel to it. Through the magic of overdubbing, Yngwie switches back and forth from his strat to a classical guitar. BTW, he plays the bass parts on Rising Force as well. Scott Soto is NOT the greatest vocalist ever, but it works here as just another instrument in the mix.
Many have charged that Malmsteen's music lacks soul and on some of his subsequent albums I might agree. As time progresses, he starts to fall back on the same licks over and over again and the speed gets overwhelming. But of all his albums, this is by far the most soulful. There is so much feeling and fire behind his playing on Rising Force. You can hear him backing off a bit on the speed and holding some of the notes longer with more vibrato on tracks like Evil Eye and Icarus's Dream Suite.
People love comparing guitarists and calling them virtuosos even if they aren't that technically proficient as long as they have "soul". "Soul" usually translates to more pop-influecned sound. Folks, SRV was NOT a virtuoso, he flat out ripped off a bunch of much more talented black blues masters. David Gilmour is an excellent guitarist with a great feel for bluesey pop, but once again NOT a virtuoso. If any of the speed gods plays souless music it's Steve Vai. A last note, one of the greatest reasons Yngwie does not progress as much as one might expect over the 20 years after Rising Force is that he was involved in a horrific car crash in 1988 and had to relearn how to play the guitar. Then he suffered a mild stroke in 1993 and had to do it again. So as much as Jason Becker is one of Metal's greatest what-ifs, so too is Yngwie Malmsteen.
Free Music Review: Technique does NOT make good music
Hit: 2 Stars
I am a guitarist, and I can vouch for Malmsteen's astounding technique. However, that only takes you so far. The songs should come first, and the songwriting just isn't there. Endless solos get boring and old after a while. You can either play for other guitar players to show off how fast you can go wheedily wheedily whee up and down the fretboard, or you can write songs and solos that hit people in the gut and touch their hearts.In my opinion, Malmsteen had an overwhelmingly NEGATIVE influence on rock guitar in the 80's. It became a competition. So many players were worried about speed and technique rather than composition and playing from their souls. As another reviewer said, if you want emotional instrumental guitar music, pick up a Eric Johnson or a Joe Satriani cd instead. Free Music Review: This Album started a whole Genre of players which is in a resugrance of sort as of late!
Hit: 5 Stars
I first learned of this album back in 1985 soon after it was released. Being 16 years old at that time and very impressionable of course and considering I had only been playing guitar for only around 1 year at that point, (I am now touring with pro level musicians, teach full time and clinic during season!)
I was soon to realize that Yngwie would take over the guitar playing world for the next 10 years whilest everyone and their brother tried to mimck his increidble technique for the instrument.
MY best buddy at the time we used to call "Yng Jay" who was my best friend at the time and was my guitar buddy as well and whom I first started playing shred guitar with and had my first band with got me into this album "Rising Force". Hew showed me how to play what was called an "arpeggio" and how to play with technique and vibrato utilizing classical influence just like Yngwie Malmsteen did on this ground breaking album which was his first solo album. Before this album he actually was in an Los Ang. Cali. band named Steeler and did a Tour with Graham Bonnet and a band called Alcatrazz also showing off his polished NEO CLASSICAL riffage to the awe inspired crowd as their jaws dropped to the floor almost non understanding initially of what was actually happening here!!
After his third release, Trilogy things started to become a little stale for Yngwie and after about a decade in the spotlight as "ROCKS MOST BRILLIANT NEW GUITARIST" as he was called the man almost dissappeared into obscurity. In the past 5 years however and with the help of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani actually, Yngwie has made a come back of sorts! Even if Yngwie probably thought he never had left the building!
This first album is his cleanest, most inspiring playing of any of the Malmsteen albums by far. The lead track on the album in my opinion which truly shines the most is "Black Star" this is incendiery guitar playing at its best. Showing Yngwies talents in full view. Not only was his vibrato wide, his use of classical violin like scales perfected and his arpeggiating or sweeping of the strings which is a technical term for when a guitar players rakes his pick across all the strings while formulating an outline of a scale??Hugh? Never mind :>).
Point is if your a guitar nut as I am and you havent heard this album it is almost a crime and you should be imprisoned for not owning it!. Yngwie was NOT the first to take this type of neo classical approach to the guitar "Dont forget Randy Rhoads and of course Ritchie Blackmore for whom Yngwie admits an obvious influence, of Blackmore that is. Look how he still dresses even today in his shiny metal bracelets and ruffly shirts from the Viking era!Yngwies choice of weapons to blast the masses with are his mighty wall of Marshall amps and his vintage Fender Stratocaster guitars. Seemingly larger than life at one time, Yngwie still believes in himself which no matter how you personally feel about the guy you have to admire at some extent.
You have to give kudos to the man and his chops! A funk meister HE IS NOT! Whether you think Yngwie is a genious or a "gnat note playing shredhead" you owe it to yourself to believe in Yngwie Malmsteens "Rising Force" album. It is and always will be a ONE OF A KIND ALBUM that even YNGWIE will never DUPLICATE again! NEver will their be such incredible TONE from his MARSHALL amps and that Fiery feel from his fingers playing every note like it was his last ever to be plaid! Back then you see, Yngwie Malmsteen was HUNGRY for it , Hungry to rule the guitar world, and for a time....he did just that! A MUST HAVE! 5 Stars!*****