GADI CAPLAN

Continuing on my odyssey of discovering albums I should have heard long below, here is Gadi Caplan's third studio album, which was released in the middle of 2016. Originally trained on piano as a child, Caplan switched to guitar in his teens and developed a passion for rock and blues which took him on many journeys. He lived in India for two years studying traditional Indian music and sitar, before moving to New York City in 2006 where he joined various rock bands, then to Boston in 2007 to study jazz, fusion and funk along with composition at the Berklee College of Music. Now based in Brooklyn, in 2014 he joined The Weeping Willards on lead guitar, forming a strong relationship with singer/composer Danny Abowd. And they soon started writing songs together which form the backbone of this album.

On this album Gadi provides guitar, bass and synth while Danny provides vocals and trombone. There are some songs when it is just the two of them, but they also know what is needed to take the music to the next level, and have brought in some guests as well, who all play a major part in how the album sounds. Bruno Esrubilsky is on drums and percussion, Duncan Wickel on violin, viola and cello, Jesse Gottlieb background vocals and trumpet, Jonathan Greenstein on tenor sax, Christian Li on keyboards and Jay Gandhi on bansuri flute. At times, I am reminded of the music of Anthony Phillips, turned into songs with wonderful vocals, at others it is more like world music with so many different influences all combining into something that is Western but being taken to a new level. Although it is laid- back and never forceful, there is a sense of real purpose and direction in this album, so much so that it cannot ever drift into the background as the listener keeps wanting to understand where the next musical twist will take them. Reminiscent at times of Gilmour or Chandler, Gadi's solos are always part of the piece as a whole, and his skill is in never really taking centre stage, but letting the vocals do their job while he layers on both acoustic and electric guitars. This is a truly glorious album.

US-based composer and guitarist Gadi CAPLAN, originally a native of Israel, ventured out on a solo career back in 2011 with the album "Opposite Views". Two years later he returned with "Look Back Step Forward", an album that saw him signed to the French Label Musea Records. "Morning Sun" is Gadi's third solo album, and was released in the spring of 2016 through the aforementioned label.

Careful and delicate compositions dominate the greater part of Caplan's third solo album, and even when the compositions take on a more dramatic type of music, it is never overpowering or overly dramatic. Tasteful, elegant and very well performed progressive rock is the name of the game here, gentle yet subtly complex, elegant and sophisticated. An album for progressive rock fans fond of music of a more careful nature, effortlessly blending and alternating between the realms of psychedelic, jazz and world music as explored in a careful and delicate progressive rock framework.

Eclectic fare from world traveller guitarist Gadi Caplan. Some songs are folk, some world (Indian), some pop, some jazz, a little infusion of Canterbury style, a lot of instrumental, several with pleasant vocals. A very pleasant journey. I found myself thinking of Roy Harper's Stormcock throughout my first listen to this material. Successive listens have slowly revealed the surprisingly wide diversitty in sounds and styles covered on this album--though throughout Gadi's electric guitar sound choices are always unusually clear, crisp, and concise--kind of like those of Roy Buchanan or Blue 'yster Cult's "Buck Dharma" Roeser in the 1970s.

1. "Hemavati" (3:42) is a wonderful horn-backed soft rock instrumental with beautiful, sensitive guitar play performing the lead in a way that is, to me, reminiscent of blues legend Roy Buchanan. (9/10)

2. "Island" (5:33) is a gorgeous little folk song in the style of 1990s STEVEN WILSON/ PORCUPINE TREE--one that makes you appreciate more the genius of SW in that time period. (9/10)

3. "Good Afternoon" (2:25) the only song on the album that I don't absolutely love, it's more in an acoustic blues style though quite reminiscent of some of HARRY NILSSON's songs, it continues to dsiplay Gadi's extraordinary skills in vocal arrangements, lead guitar play, and production. (7/10)

4. "Vivadi Swara" (5:39) opens as a pure ROY BUCHANAN song with acoustic guitar and synth providing sparse background support for the sensitive lead electric guitar work. At 1:38 the song opens up with strummed acoustic guitar, full band support and Gadi's whispery, jazzy lead vocal. I hear a little George Harrison in this one. Such stellar songwriting and production! A true gem! (9/10) 5. "Morning Sun" (4:14) a sparsely constructed folk song that truly feels like it came out of the mucis catalog of 1970s HARRY NILSSON or the introspective side of ROBERT WYATT or JEFF BUCKLEY. Extraordinary and beautiful! I love the wooden flute play, too. (10/10)

6. "La Morena" (5:46) opens gently but with vocals joining in almost immediately. The vocals are very beautifully executed--quite like Coldplay's CHRIS MARTIN. I love the BEATLES-like contribution of the violin and Gadi's finishing vocalizations. (9/10)

7. "The Other Other Side" (5:14) from my very first listen this song has been my favorite. A bit more dynamic and electric than the previous six songs, this one also has a little more diversity in way the accompanying instruments are presented. Sounding slightly PINK FLOYD-ish, slightly Hawaiian, though mostly Harry NILSSON and STEVEN WILSON-ish, this one has the gift of an extraordinary vocal and an awesome bluesy guitar solo in the final minutes. (10/10)

8. "Lili's Day, Pt. 1" (2:49) opens with quite an different, synth-dominated trip hoppy sound and feel--here bringing to mind some of the work of some of the early Post Rock bands (like Tortoise and Bark Psychosis). Great groove! (10/10)

9. "Lili's Day, Pt. 2" (2:28) continues the Post Rock sound with its great guitar weave while adding a Dick Parry-like breathy sax to take the lead. (9/10)

10. "Lili's Day, Pt. 3" (1:50) sees a shift in the music starting with the eery militaristic drumming, minor chord synths, and more sustain-effected guitar lead. (8/10)

11. "Lili's Day, Pt. 4" (2:37) shifts into a more straight rock mellow outflow with the violin and strings synths taking the dominant lead in presenting the melodies. (8/10)

A near-masterpiece of progressive rock music, this is a type of clear, clean, simply constructed song production I wish there was more of in this day and age. Beautiful. Do check it out. Highly recommended.

US-based composer and guitarist Gadi CAPLAN, originally a native of Israel, released his debut solo album "Opposite Views" back in 2010. "Look Back Step Forward" from 2013 is his second production, initially self-released like his debut album, then later on picked up by the French label Musea Records and distributed through their Musea Parallele imprint.

Careful and delicate compositions, fairly smooth even when hitting the occasional richly layered impact sequences, is what Gadi Caplan presents on his second album "Look back Step Forward". A mostly instrumental production, with jazz rock and progressive rock as the main features with some forays into folk and world music for additional details. An album to seek out by those who find this blend fascinating, and especially by those who enjoy listening to high-quality musicianship by an instrumentalist who appears to enjoy employing a careful and delicate approach to the art of creating and performing his music.