Sly Guitar
Description
Sly Guitar is the new CD by UK guitarist/composer John Ellis. He describes it as "an exploration of Modern Guitar Music. A car crash of guitars and electronica." The CD feature 3 live looping performances as well as studio constructions. The digipak contains an 8 page full colour booklet.
3 reviews for Sly Guitar
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3 reviews for Sly Guitar
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Forget the John Ellis, founder of The Vibrators, guitarist with Peters Gabriel and Hammill and The Stranglers; John Ellis is a brilliant musician and prolific songwriter in his own right.
Apart from seeing John play for PG and PH, I knew very little about John Ellis until I heard his solo efforts on Myspace about 7 years ago.
I am not a music lover who is easily impressed by musicians, purely because they have complimented the songs that my idols have written and sung on; so quite simply, if I think that a musician’s own music is mediocre and mundane, I won’t pay any attention.John Ellis’s music is refreshingly different.
John Ellis has a talent for making music an adventure rather than just a listening experience. His attention to detail to every chord and note is beyond compare, and melody rather than just technique plays a big role in John’s music.
Apologies for waffling on, I am merely preparing the listener for a very different sonic experience that I feel all good music lovers will enjoy.
Sly Guitar is an album of modern guitar music ideal for the listener who is bored with the traditional axe media of today. John by his own admission is great fan of guitar effects units, and he uses his electronics to astounding results; indeed to the point that one can’t be certain which is guitar and which is synth at times.
Every tune is arranged excellently and for me the percussion arrangements are second to none; some reminiscent of Drum and Bass (but better!)
John Ellis is a master of live looping improvised guitar phrases and passages, a term he likes to refer to as Looprovistaion; the tracks ‘Farud Gets Electricity’ and the title track ‘Sly Guitar’ are fine examples of John’s expertise in this fieldHaving heard Sly Guitar a number of times now, I have definitely singled out my favourite tracks. The orchestral ‘Pyscho Cooler’, ‘I Remember Futurism’ and ‘Crow on a Dying Dog’ stand out for me. Having said that, there isn’t a single track on this excellent collection of John Ellis’s music that I have found uninteresting.
If you like listening to music in headphones and with the lights dimmed or off, I can recommend Sly Guitar for your next CD purchase; the stereo effects are simply stunning!
Oh, and if you like Ebow guitar, John Ellis IS King Ebow! -
Well the much-anticipated CD arrived, and I’m not disappointed! I was familiar with most of the tracks on this album anyway from having listened to them on Soundcloud, but it is so much better having them on a CD and listening to it through a decent set of speakers! There are some magnificent sounds on it, from the ethereal, wide-open-spaces sounds on “Infanta” to some more traditional sounding guitar on “Farud Gets Electricity”, the two styles combining very effectively in “The Bowl Maker of Lhasa”. Other tracks I loved were “Echoplexing”, “I remember Futurism”, and of course the title track, “Sly Guitar”. It moves along nicely, subtly changing along the way whilst still retaining its core theme. Some great tunes, great playing, and some of this would sound wonderful as a film or TV soundtrack, needing little or no adaptation. Overall, a fantastic album and I look forward to the next one!
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John Ellis for me was always the former guitarist for The Stranglers . Listening to SLY GUITAR I changed my mind! SLY GUITAR for me is fantastic modern sounding instrumentalist album.
John Saunders –
Forget the John Ellis, founder of The Vibrators, guitarist with Peters Gabriel and Hammill and The Stranglers; John Ellis is a brilliant musician and prolific songwriter in his own right.
Apart from seeing John play for PG and PH, I knew very little about John Ellis until I heard his solo efforts on Myspace about 7 years ago.
I am not a music lover who is easily impressed by musicians, purely because they have complimented the songs that my idols have written and sung on; so quite simply, if I think that a musician’s own music is mediocre and mundane, I won’t pay any attention.
John Ellis’s music is refreshingly different.
John Ellis has a talent for making music an adventure rather than just a listening experience. His attention to detail to every chord and note is beyond compare, and melody rather than just technique plays a big role in John’s music.
Apologies for waffling on, I am merely preparing the listener for a very different sonic experience that I feel all good music lovers will enjoy.
Sly Guitar is an album of modern guitar music ideal for the listener who is bored with the traditional axe media of today. John by his own admission is great fan of guitar effects units, and he uses his electronics to astounding results; indeed to the point that one can’t be certain which is guitar and which is synth at times.
Every tune is arranged excellently and for me the percussion arrangements are second to none; some reminiscent of Drum and Bass (but better!)
John Ellis is a master of live looping improvised guitar phrases and passages, a term he likes to refer to as Looprovistaion; the tracks ‘Farud Gets Electricity’ and the title track ‘Sly Guitar’ are fine examples of John’s expertise in this field
Having heard Sly Guitar a number of times now, I have definitely singled out my favourite tracks. The orchestral ‘Pyscho Cooler’, ‘I Remember Futurism’ and ‘Crow on a Dying Dog’ stand out for me. Having said that, there isn’t a single track on this excellent collection of John Ellis’s music that I have found uninteresting.
If you like listening to music in headphones and with the lights dimmed or off, I can recommend Sly Guitar for your next CD purchase; the stereo effects are simply stunning!
Oh, and if you like Ebow guitar, John Ellis IS King Ebow!
Helen Bovill –
Well the much-anticipated CD arrived, and I’m not disappointed! I was familiar with most of the tracks on this album anyway from having listened to them on Soundcloud, but it is so much better having them on a CD and listening to it through a decent set of speakers! There are some magnificent sounds on it, from the ethereal, wide-open-spaces sounds on “Infanta” to some more traditional sounding guitar on “Farud Gets Electricity”, the two styles combining very effectively in “The Bowl Maker of Lhasa”. Other tracks I loved were “Echoplexing”, “I remember Futurism”, and of course the title track, “Sly Guitar”. It moves along nicely, subtly changing along the way whilst still retaining its core theme. Some great tunes, great playing, and some of this would sound wonderful as a film or TV soundtrack, needing little or no adaptation. Overall, a fantastic album and I look forward to the next one!
David Woolfenden (verified owner) –
John Ellis for me was always the former guitarist for The Stranglers . Listening to SLY GUITAR I changed my mind! SLY GUITAR for me is fantastic modern sounding instrumentalist album.