Buckethead--Electric Tears

71 minutes and one second of slick new age noodlin'. You'd expect Buckethead to come up with something extreme & brutal while being a member of Axl W. Rose's troupe, but no such luck. Electric Tears is basically Colma, Vol. 2, entirely instrumental and ambient, yet even more mellow and minimalist. This time around, all tracks - except for "Sketches of Spain," which is an (abridged) interpretation of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" (also adapted by Miles Davis) - were written, composed, arranged and played by Buckethead, so it's a guitar-only album. He usually juxtaposes acoustic and electric parts, as such creating gently shading sound blankets that balance somewhere in between breezy classical, folk, new age and the occasional hints of flamenco and blues. "Pretty" is the key word, as one tasteful melody follows the next and one movement fluently morphs another one. However, everybody's favorite mystery musician realises that prettiness is much more intoxicating with a dash of melancholy, and so several of these tracks have a dream-like quality with a hint of sadness to them. Titles like "The Way to Heaven," "Baptism of Solitude," and "Spell of the Gypsies" are also appropriate, just like less obvious picks "Padmasana" (the traditional lotus-position), "Datura" (a herb that's a deliriant) and "Mantaray" (a kind of stingray). However, at one hour and 11 minutes, Electric Tears is also quite a chore to endure, since only the repetitive blues riff of "Kansas Storm" offers a break from this succession of elegant instrumentals, many of which almost sound like they could've been used on Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, had they been written with a full band in mind. By consequence, Electric Tears works fine as background music - especially if you're a dentist, chiropractor or psychic - but doesn't present nearly enough variation for repeated listening.

Tracklist:

01.All In The Waiting
02.Sketches Of Spain (For Miles)
03.Padmasana
04.Mustang
05.Way To Heaven, The
06.Baptism Of Solitude
07.Kansas Storm
08.Datura
09.Mantaray
10.Witches On The Heath
11.Angel Monster
12.Electric Tears
13.Spell Of The Gypsies

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