OCTAVE OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS (WITH BUCKETHEAD AND MICHAEL SHRIEVE)

One of my pet peeves when it comes to music is that whole "unplugged" or "acoustic" scene. Im sorry but give me electric instruments with fuzz and power. I just never "got" why there was an appeal to hear an electric album done live but unplugged or re-done in studio acoustically. I'm not into Folk music or traditional Jazz either so I know it's just me. Despite these strong feelings I thought I'd take a chance with "Octave Of The Holy Innocents" by Sweden's own Jonas Hellborg, bass player extraordinaire and this all-acoustic album released in 1992. I was convinced to track this down because it seemed almost unanimous that this record is the cat's ass. They are a trio with SANTANA's Michael Shrieve on drums and Buckethead on guitar. The playing is lights out and beyond reproach from where I sit. The problem is thinking about how good this could have been if they let their hair down and added some electricity to the proceedings. Also I get tired of hearing the guitar strummed with that same tone over and over.

"Rana And Fara" is a good one as the drums seem more upfront and deeper here. The guitar is so intricate and fast at times, it's hard not to be impressed. It calms right down around 4 1/2 minutes as the drums and bass stop and the relaxed intricate guitar continues. It kicks back in a minute later and again the guitar stands out the most for me. The bass accomplishes this as well before 7 minutes then it settles back again as the guitar solos. There's almost silence before 10 minutes then it starts to build.

"Death That Sleeps" has this repeated guitar melody as the bass and drums support throughout. It's pretty good. "The Past Is A Different Country, I Don't Live There Anymore" is a sparse track as it is very relaxed and laid back. I like the atmosphere and deep sounds. "Child King" is excellent as we get tension throughout and I keep waiting for it to explode but it doesn't or can't(hey it acoustic). One of my favourites for sure. "Kidogo" features uptempo strummed guitar, bass and drums for 3 1/2 minutes then we get a calm until it kicks back in around 5 minutes to the end.

I seem to tire of this one quickly yet there's lots to enjoy here. Overall 3.5 stars seems right to me. I really enjoy a lot of this album but for me there's plenty of flaws, at least when it comes to my musical tastes, certainly not in the performances on display here.