There's little question that Gary Hoey is a talented guitarist, capable of spinning out dizzying solos at the drop of the hat. He has a problem making compelling records, though. His fourth proper studio album, Money -- not counting no less than three holiday records and a live album -- starts off on the wrong note with a horridly misguided reworking of Pink Floyd's "Money" as a post-Surfing With the Alien instrumental, complete with a wah-wah melody line. Hoey never quite abandons Joe Satriani throughout the album -- he really hasn't left him behind once in his career, actually -- and the combination of Satch's fluid, rounded technique with a surfer aesthetic is often quite jarring, whether it's on rockers, lite-funk numbers, or melodic album rock cuts that sound a bit like the Satriani number used in the Maxell Tape commercial. It's weird to hear such a technically proficient guitarist with such a laid-back vibe -- after all, most guitar virtuosos go out of their way to show off their chops. To his credit, Hoey never does that. If only he could find stronger material and be more adventurous in his arrangements. At times, it works, but it's all surfer cool and guitar gloss, which means it can be so slick and unassuming that it's hard to hear Hoey's musicianship. And his songwriting doesn't really draw a listener in, either, leaving Money as weird background music -- impeccably played and produced, but never engaging. It will likely please Hoey fanatics, but it's hard not to think that he's capable of more. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/money-mw0000252470
“Money” is the reward of a year’s worth of Gary’s hard work in his home studio. By combining killer hard rock riffs with modern-day recording techniques, Gary has emerged with a record that sets his course for the future without forgetting his rock and roll roots. © 2008 Gary Hoey http://garyhoey.com/discography/money/
Four full stars for this title by Gary Hoey. I mean, this cd deserves absolutly four stars from its beginning to its end. It is really entertaining, expecially if you love instrumental rock, obviously. I had a lot of fun listening to it. Hoey is not the kind of virtuoso who plays a zillion notes. He is not comparable to Greg Howe or to Lane or to Prashant Aswani for example. They are more on the fusion side and are more committed to explore new stuff. Gary is not like them: he's committed to deliver pure fun through his guitar riffs and melodies and is more on the simple instrumental rock side. He plays a sort of Satriani instrumental rock, but without the strange awkward melodies sometimes Joe plays. Gary is just a simple melodies and riffs writer at heart and a consistent guitarist with great wah wah pentatonic chops. Moreover he has strong sounds and great time. Probably noone will ever point him as a guitar god but this album (and I imagine his others are too) is truly entertaining. I'm happy I did buy it. – from ****/5 Four full stars, November 17, 2003 By & © Jazzcat "stef" (Genoa, Italy Italy) © 1996-2013, Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Money-Gary-Hoey/product-reviews/B000028TV4/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
Gary speaking about “Money” said, "Money" is an album that for me is definitely a step forward. This is my eighth solo record and you know, I've done a lot of instrumental records already and I've sort of done a lot of things a certain way. I've tried to make this new album a lot more high tech, a lot more cinematic, you know. When you listen to it it's a lot more visual, it takes you on a journey. I'm using a lot more different keyboard sounds and some drum loops. I'm using some hip-hop beats. I'm using samples. I'm using some crazy guitar sounds, really extreme guitar sounds that just don't sound, you know, typical. I'm really trying to push it and I think this new album is going to show people a new sound, I really do”. Gary Hoey is a very underrated guitarist. “Money” has received mixed reviews. His cover of Pink Floyd’s “Money” is unpopular with many people. How dare anybody mess with a track from the sacred “TDSOTM” album! (lol)! It is true that Gary is capable of more elaborate riffage and could have made more of his guitar talents on the album, but he’s kept it relatively simple here and it’s still a great album where hard rock riffs meet surf over a ripping guitar sound. Listen to Gary's "Wake Up Call" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 95.7 Mb]
TRACKS
1 Money See 3:05
2 Peahi 4:23
3 Da Kine 3:21
4 Bula Brain 4:05
5 Drop In 3:05
6 Quack 3:17
7 Zen Den 4:03
8 Facedown 3:01
9 Smokin' Up Sunshine 3:00
10 Buddhaville 3:24
11 Hail to Dale 3:18
12 Gone Surfin' 3:14
All tracks composed by Gary Hoey except Track 1 by Roger Waters, & Track 11 by Gary Hoey, Glen Sobel, & Jamie Carter
MUSICIANS
Gary Hoey - Guitar
Ray Riendeau - Bass
Glen Sobel - Drums
BIO
Just as alternative rock was signaling the death knell for many of the "guitar shredders' of the late '80s, a few instrumentalists were able to sneak in under the radar, such as Gary Hoey -- who attracted some attention via his 1993 debut, Animal Instinct. Hailing from Boston, MA, Hoey was first a music fan before picking up the guitar -- following such renowned rock bands that hailed from the area (Aerosmith, J. Geils Band, Boston, etc.). It wasn't long after that Hoey decided to give the guitar a try, initially inspired by the usual guitar greats (especially Jimi Hendrix, whom he dug initially because of his "cool clothes"). Hoey was not entirely self-taught, however, as he would often hang around outside of Boston's renowned Berkelee School of Music, make friends, and then offer to pay them for lessons. Sensing that he should devote all of his time to music, Hoey dropped out of high school and began playing Boston's local clubs, making ends meet by teaching guitar to others. Hoey's big break appeared to come his way in 1982, when Ozzy Osbourne began looking for a replacement for his recently deceased guitarist, Randy Rhoads. Despite a series of auditions (including Hoey being asked to fly out to Los Angeles), Hoey failed to land the gig, but in the process, he decided to relocate permanently to the West Coast. Packing up all his belongings into a U-Haul, Hoey arrived with $17,000 in his pocket (saved from his playing and teaching gigs). Years later, Hoey eventually came to the attention of manager Dave Kaplan, who helped get the guitarist's career moving forward. Although it wasn't the best of times to launch a career for a "guitar hero" in 1993 (with Nirvana and Pearl Jam being all the rage), Hoey did just that and, surprisingly, scored a sizeable MTV/radio hit with his cover of the early-'70s prog rock gem "Hocus Pocus" by the Netherlands-based group Focus. The album it was taken from, the aforementioned Animal Instinct, also featured contributions from a few notable names of '80s hard rock -- bassist Tony Franklin (ex-Firm), keyboardist Claude Schnell (ex-Dio), and drummer Frankie Banali (ex-Quiet Riot). Hoey never managed to scale the same heights commercially, but it didn't prevent him from carving a niche for himself, as his albums got progressively more surf-based and rootsy. A friendship with surf guitar great Dick Dale soon blossomed, with Dale going as far as declaring Hoey as one of his all-time favorite players, alongside the likes of Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and Andrés Segovia (in Guitar Player magazine), which led to the two working together. The two talented guitarists went toe to toe on a remake of "Miserlou" (titled "Miserlou '97") for the 1997 benefit album M.O.M., Vol. 2: Music for Our Mother Ocean, which also saw Hoey produce and play on another track for the collection, "V-12 Cadillac," by a then still unknown Jewel. Hoey continues to issue solo albums on a regular basis (including a series of Christmas-themed releases), as well as being a regular guest on several nationally syndicated radio shows (Mancow, Mark & Brian, etc.). He also has worked with various musical instrument and electronics companies creating his own signature gear for retail. In 2006, Hoey released American Made on Surfdog Records. © Greg Prato © 2013 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/gary-hoey-mn0000741158/biography
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