Blues Saraceno

Blues Saraceno - Never Look Back - 1989 - Guitar Recordings

This unknown teenage guitarist was given an unprecedented opportunity to display his talent when Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine released Never Look Back on their new label Guitar Recordings. The editors certainly heard something that they liked, banking on Blues Saraceno to capture the attention of their large readership: rock musicians eager to compare their chops with the hottest young guitarists going. With his pure tone and precise technique, the flashy shredder emphasized smart phrasing and rhythm and avoided overplaying -- an indulgence many young guitar hopefuls could not stop themselves from partaking in. Highlight cuts include the upbeat boogie number "Full Tank," the fine echo management of "Before the Storm," and the most melodic of his Satriani-like tracks, "Frazin'." A much more mature player than his post-Vai and -Satriani competitors, Saraceno lacked the elder guitarist's melodic vision and personality. But considering Saraceno's age and experience, Never Look Back is an impressive debut. © Vincent Jeffries © 2012 Rovi Corporation. All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/never-look-back-r17377

When this album was released, the great guitar virtuoso Blues Saraceno was only 16 but he was already playing like a veteran axeman. He had already done a lot of session work including some pretty mundane stuff for some AOR artists, but on "Never Look Back" he was free to express his natural flair for playing great hard rock, jazz, and funk. He is backed by bassist Randy Coven (Steve Vai), and drummer Joe Franco (Vinnie Moore). There are 10 smoking hard rock instrumentals on this disc showcasing Blues' command of the fretboard. Blue's music is in the same mould as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Santana, and Yngwie Malksteenwould, and many would say that Blues Saraceno is a better guitarist than any of these guys! Pity this debut album is so short. (More like an EP). Buy Blues' great "Hairpick" album and promote great hard rock music [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 77.8 Mb]

TRACKS

1. Remember When 2:29
2. Never Look Back 3:00
3. Full Tank 2:48
4. Jay Walkin' 3:09
5. Deliverance 2:41
6. The Shakes 3:36
7. Before the Storm 4:35
8. Funk 49 3:34
9. Jitter Blast 1:31
10. Frazin' 3:14

All tracks composed by Blues Saraceno, except "Funk 49" by Dale Peters, Jim Fox, & Joe Walsh

MUSICIANS

Blues Saraceno – Guitar
Randy Coven – Bass
Joe Franco – Drums

BIO (WIKI)

Blues Saraceno (born October 17, 1971 in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American rock guitarist, composer, and music producer who currently resides in Los Angeles California. Saraceno was discovered by Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine, at the age of 16, which assisted him in releasing instrumental recordings on an independent basis. Saraceno's high profile as a gifted guitar virtuoso and musician opened the doors to an early career as a first call guitar sideman and session musician. Saraceno is most often recognized from his time playing with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (Cream) as well as his brief tenure with the band Poison. Saraceno's early success in the music industry would eventually blossom into a career in producing and composing for television and film. Blues Saraceno was born to musician parents, which exposed him from an early age to several musical instruments. He started to play guitar at the age of nine. When he was thirteen, he broke his elbow when he fell from a go-kart and asked the doctor to position the cast in a way that allowed him to remove it from his sling to practice guitar during his recovery. When he was nineteen, Saraceno moved to Los Angeles to seek a career in music. When Saraceno was still a teenager, his then manager sent a demo tape to singer Michael Bolton, who decided to enlist him to play on a song for Cher's album, Heart of Stone. The album also featured musicians like Peter Cetera, Bonnie Tyler, Desmond Child, and others. After this, his demo tape reached the Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine. The magazine, which were about to launch a new record label, offered Saraceno a record deal. Saraceno released his first album titled Never Look Back in 1989. After this, Saraceno won an audition with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, former members of Cream, and started touring with them. After two successful US tours Saraceno was quickly becoming referred to as the "kid that replaced Eric Clapton". After another year of overseas touring, Baker departed and was replaced by Simon Phillips (Who, Toto) and eventually Gary Husband (Level 42). Saraceno continued to release two other solo albums (Plaid and Hairpick) as well as furthering his reputation as a top call session guitarist and landing many high profile equipment endorsements. In 1994, Saraceno joined the band Poison as lead guitarist and songwriter after Richie Kotzen was fired. After a South American tour which included the famous Hollywood rock festival in Brazil, Saraceno recorded the album Crack a Smile with the band. However, Capitol Records decided to shelve the album releasing the 1996 compilation album, Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986-1996, instead. Still, the album featured two of the new songs recorded with Saraceno. After some time, Saraceno left the group amicably and was replaced by the band's original guitarist, C.C. DeVille. In 2000, Capitol finally decided to release the Crack a Smile album under the name Crack a Smile... and More!. The album features fifteen tracks recorded by Saraceno. After his departure from Poison, Saraceno met Vice-President of Advertising of Fox Television, who was a fan of Saraceno's earlier instrumental work. This resulted in Saraceno working on soundtracks and songs for several television shows and films. In 2000, Saraceno also founded the band Transmission OK. Saraceno also worked as record producer for the band, which was signed to Beyond Records, and was distributed by BMG. After a brief US tour, and lackluster support from the label, the group disbanded and Saraceno continued to work on television and film, as well as his session work. Saraceno's session work has ranged from Ziggy Marley (Dragonfly) to Melissa Etheridge (Lucky) and he has earned a reputation for being a "go-to guy" for many of Los Angeles' top record producers and engineers. Saraceno has also produced for artists such as, Scott Caan (Hawaii Five-0, Oceans 11), Eric Balfour (24, Chainsaw Massacre) of Fredalba, Lindsay Price (Beverly Hills 90210, Lipstick Jungle) and Anthony Michael Hall (Dead Zone). Saraceno's greatest success has come in the field of television and film. Blues' television work credits include CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, Disney, Discovery, UPN, MTV, MTV 2, VH1, USA, TLC, Comedy Central, Telemundo, SCI FI, SPIKE, E! and BRAVO. A more detailed list can be found on his website (www.bluessaraceno.com). He has commented on how it is not uncommon to have multiple commercials running in multiple countries throughout the world, all at the same time and using the same piece of music. Saraceno did three tracks for Megas XLR. These tracks were Blood Shot, Berzerker and Ro-Sham-Bo.