MONDAY NIGHT IN SAN FRANCISCO

The California Guitar Trio (CGT) is comprised by Bert Lams, Hideyo Moriya and Paul Richards, all former members of Robert Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists and therefore students of this highly respected guitar player on prog, rock and general music circles. So what we can expect from this effort is highly skilled guitar playing and with the addition of one of the most acclaimed bass/stick players in prog, Tony Levin (King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Liquid Tension Experiment, etc.), the expectations are higher. I can tell you wont be disappointed.

The set-list of this live recording includes a wide ranges of styles including classical, prog, classic rock, Venezuelan waltz and even surf. I have to say that every single piece played here is highly enjoyable even if you are not a prog fan (excluding the King Crimson covers).

To present my favorite tracks of this long track list I'll divide them into three categories: originals, covers and classical interpretations. The original CGT pieces that I enjoyed the most are Pathways, Waters Of Eden and Belle all very interesting and amusing, showing the impressive skills of the trio (+ Levin), the quality of music that can be produced by such a basic instrumentation (3 acoustic guitars and a bass) and the exceptional compositional abilities of Fripp's students (the teacher deserves some credit, don't you think?). Another thing that deserves mention are the improvisational pieces, which are simply outstanding.

The performance was dominated by acoustic re-workings and renditions of other artists' pieces. The main band being covered here is King Crimson (although, I don't know if considering these renditions covers since Tony Levin is involved...) with classics from Discipline such as the title track and Elephant Talk (which featured the only vocals in the album, provided very aptly by Tony Levin) , both given justice with innovative and very different acoustic versions, highly recommended to Crimson fans. Still in the King Crimson vein, the band masterfully performed Blockhead originally written for the Robert Fripp String Quintet which isn't really a cover since the trio where part of the original project. One of the most interesting covers of the evening was Mahavishnu Orchestra's Dance Of Maya in which this electric fusion classic was turned acoustic, producing a highly enjoyable new sound. The final re-working of the show is Queen's classic Bohemian Rhapsody performed in an acoustic fashion in such a way that there were no vocals needed (although the crowd started to sing...) and this seems to be one of the pieces the audience enjoyed the most.

The classical interpretations covered a small fraction of the performance, nonetheless they represent one of the most pleasant parts of this album. I am a Venezuelan and listening to this masters of the guitar playing a Venezuelan waltz was really amazing, since Venezuelan guitar waltzes are beautiful, grand and very enjoyable but highly underrated. The other classical performance is a breath-taking interpretation of the last movement of Beethoven's Symphony No 9, what can I say about this one? simply beautiful! One last track that deserves being mentioned is CGT's rendition of jazz standard Caravan which is as great and well performed as the best performance of this classic.

Added to the music, we have fun narrations by the band and a very enthusiastic audience, which makes this a very pleasant listening experience. The concert was, probably, a 5 star experience. On the other hand, this live recording because of the low quality of the performance, the intervention of the audience in some musical sections (particularly during Bohemian Rhapsody) and, to a lesser extent, some filler tracks (such as Misrilou, which are fun but add nothing to the music), is a 3 star album.

Total: 3.46

This album is worth getting because of the excellent musical performance, although some external elements reduce its quality.... I would've loved to be at this CGT concert.