Recalling Brian May, Blues Saraceno continued to improve his liquid lead tone and vibrant phrasing on Hairpick, the shredder's finest solo disc. His third and final recording for Guitar Recordings, Saraceno reveals a profound dedication to his instrument on this 1994 release. In a bold songwriting move, the guitarist shifts his musical focus away from the upbeat boogie (mastered more than a decade earlier by Eddie Van Halen and copied all too frequently by second-rate guitar instrumentalists) too prevail ant on Never Look Back and Plaid. While never quite achieving the melodicism of his genre's premiere phrase-maker Joe Satriani, Saraceno continues his progress as a writer on Hairpick. The standout "Chewing on Crayons" features Saraceno really letting go. With some of his fastest, out-of-control soloing, the track ironically represents a mature step away from the musician's somewhat self-conscious, restrained oeuvre of solos. Other expressive highlights include "Stinky Kitty" and "Fat Paddin." Uncharacteristically mature and musical, Hair Pick -- like the man who made it -- is a rare combination of smarts, talent and passion. Soon after unleashing Hairpick, Saraceno abandoned instrumental rock and joined Poison for an ill-fated tenure in the circus world of major-label recording. The musician claims he "never wanted to be a guitar hero" and had accomplished what he set out to do instrumentally. After a record was scrapped by Poison's label, Saraceno left the group, began working session gigs, and assembled his own band, Transmission OK. © Vincent Jeffries © 2014 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/hairpick-mw0000118663
Guitar for the Practicing Musician magazine was instrumental in promoting Blues Saraceno from Hartford, Connecticut as a very talented musician, and aided him in releasing independent instrumental recordings which helped to spread his name as a top guitarist in the music scene. He played and toured with Cream legends Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker and at one time was referred to as the "kid that replaced Eric Clapton". Blues eventually replaced the great Richie Kotzen in Poison. “Hairpick” is arguably Blues’ best album in that he penned eight good originals and also his guitar prowess is displayed to the max. The album is HR by A.O.O.F.C. Blues appears on Dweezil Zappa’s “Go With What You Know” but he has been a top session player on numerous albums. Check out his underrated “Never Look Back” album and visit his website @ http://www.bluessaraceno.com/index2.html [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 81.3 Mb]
TRACKS
1.Stinky Kitty 4:28
2.Rabbit Soup 2:42
3.My Generation 3:11
4.King for a Day 3:47
5.Pretty People 3:09
6.Feedin' the Box 3:23
7.Fat Padding 3:14
8.Far from Home 3:10
9.Chewing on Crayons 3:09
10.Bouree 3:40
All tracks composed by B.Saraceno except Track 3 by P.Townshend, and Track 10 by J.S.Bach (Arranged by Ian Anderson)
MUSICIANS
Blues Saraceno - Guitar, Bass, Vocals
Dweezil Zappa - Guitar on Track 9
Josh Freese - 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.
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