Artist: Mikhal Caldwell CD Title: Chop Shop Project Reviewed by: Nick Martinelli Reviewed: 1/16/2000

    Chop shop that's for sure!  This album is packed with non stop killer acoustic guitar work.  It's really hard to put one style or genre down on this amazing music.  My best guess wouldn't even come close, but if you combine Indian, Latin, Jazz, regional based folk, African rhythms and tons of ripping guitar and some outrageous percussion work that would barely begin to identify these guys.  The music is very inspirational and I can't say I've ever heard anything like this before.  I had to speak with Mikhal Caldwell a few times on how to best describe his music, so I could better understand it.  To tell you the truth I STILL have trouble putting a label on it and I'm not going to even try.  So this time THERE IS NO ONE TO COMPARE IT TO, AND YOU'LL HAVE TO TAKE MY WORD ON IT AND BUY IT FROM www.mikhalcaldwell.com or www.guitar9.com.

     This music to me is like the sound track to a weird dream for lack of better words!  I find it to be very refreshing in times when MTV dictates to the rest of the country on what to listen to.  Mikhal shows that music with thought and skill can go a long way.  He's a very accomplished musician with many other CDs out and not to mention a very well known session musician as well.  So visit his website for more info on his CDs and other projects.  Time to get rockin' so lets get in the groove for "Earth Music."

     Track one "Silat" opens with some very tribal sounding percussion work followed by a very infectious main melody line that has got to be one of the most intense acoustic lines I've ever heard.  Before I go on, I have to stop and talk about Mikhal's clean playing.  I've listened to this CD about a dozen times before I sat down to write this review and I must say, I haven't found a bad note yet.  No buzzing that's for sure!  This song floats between a Arabic and Latin theme and I think the two complement each other very well.  There are even a few time changes, they go between standard 4/4 and 6/8.  I'm telling you this music is amazing, and you'll realize that after the first note.  This tune is very upbeat and rhythm orientated.  Mikhal really knows how to bend his melodies with his rhythm section for a huge wall sound.  Later on during the track he hammers you with some insane 32nd and 64th note mixed with some arpeggios for a mega shred salad, minus the cheese!

     "Tribes" track two is another blazing example of the pure musicianship of Mikhal Caldwell.  The song opens with a slow noodeling that flows into some killer sound octave movements.  Then in comes the main melody line that will tear your soul to shreds, it's very melodic and upbeat and has a real jazzy feel to it.  To be immediately blown away check out 3:16 for one of the most wildest repeating climb lines you'll ever hear.  This song is a great example of tonal clusters (Expanding the pallet of harmonic and melodic structures by placing intervals in places that they would not occur in naturally) as described by Caldwell, it.  For more info on tonalities see Mikhal's FRETBOARD FROLIC SERIES here at The Shred Zone.  I even learned that Mikhal used a very rarely used scale called the MAU ULSIZA, it's of African origin.  In the song, the scale ascends in a suspended form into a jazzy chord progression with a 3/4 time.  Who ever said guys that have musical training can't play with soul and feel, obviously haven't heard Mikhal's music because this stuff will stand the test of time.

     Track three begins with a cool drum intro / solo called "The Message" with some very mysterious Indian \ Tribal percussion by Charles Stuart.   I can just imagine being having been captured buy a bunch of cannibals and their getting ready to put me in a caldron and make some shred soup out of me.  But then swoops in Mikhal with "Jihaid" and saves the day, taking out all those nasty natives with his tonal precession.   This song has a very Egyptian feel to it.  I spoke with Mikhal about the style he used in this song and he replied in regards to the main solo " the solo is done in the style of Hijaz which is to imply that the solo is rooted in 2 different keys, also there is a lot of semi tonal bending to express a genuine Middle Eastern feel."  The main line has a neat descending vibe to it, I know you'll enjoy it very much, and by all means, learn how to play it.  The lick is worth the practice.  This song is one my favorites and sports one of the most interesting melodic pieces on the album, the main melody.  Also, throughout the song listen for his smoking lead lines.  There are way to many to list, but one of my favorites is at 5:07 (the outro lead section).  It's a very catchy line, and again has flip flop ascending and descending vibe to it.  Along with that, I also enjoyed Mikhal's use off blended effects that gave the acoustic guitar lots of texture.  This song is one to put on repeat that's for sure.  So keep those ears peeled and those metronomes turned to 6/8.  This song is going to take you on a magic carpet ride that's for sure!

     Track four "Stained Glass" opens with some cool storm sound effects that brings in a killer diminished feeling movement that will scare the pants right off you.  At 00:25 Mikhal enters with the coolest rhythm section riff on the CD.  Mikhal sure knows how to give a extremely high level performance and it really shows on this one. The song is done in 12/8 with a droned E as a constant figure with a very East Indian influence.  If your having a hard time trying to rationalize his time signatures, sit down and clap or tap your foot to get a feel for the beat, and then try to play along with it.  Mikhal also used some super difficult grouping notes in the performance of the solo at really high speeds played very staccato that resolve themselves in really strange places in the measures.

     "Open Hearts" song five has a more contemporary sound to it.  I love this song's rhythm section, it sets up a huge groove and keeps the song moving well.  Mikhal really goes the mile, combining different styles of lead playing including blues, jazz and oriental.  Try to distinguish the differences, I had a very hard time (the again, I don't have much experience with jazz or oriental playing).  The main theme is very cool using string skips which are separated by as much as 4 strings.  At 5:07 the song takes a different turn and bringd in a drum solo from Charles Stuart.  Then Mikhal brings it back up with some mellow solos that scream soul.  I really enjoyed the mellower feeling of this song, Mikhal uses lots of note accents to help state his mood.  He doesn't really rip out very much, so it's nice to catch his other side of soloing.

   Track six "Path Home" brings the CD to a powerful close with an improvisational feel based in the Dorian / Phrygian modes.  Rewind the intro section a few times, and get a feel for how fast his runs are.  I still can't get over how clean his playing is, Mikhal is a very polished player, no room for error.  Check out 00:41 for some of the most highest pitched acoustic shredding ever.    Mikhal really lets lose with trade off lead runs and Charles tries to outdo him with his super fast percussion work.  Who wins?  No one knows!  This song is a slower paced one, but Caldwell doesn't spare the smoking guitar lines.  Listen for lots of ascending and descending runs.   2:25 and on marks some of the craziest acoustic shredding I've ever heard, trying playing that part five times fast!

     Wow!  This has been the hardest review to write yet and probably will be the hardest until I get another Mikhal Caldwell CD to review.  What more is there to say accept for this is a phenomenal release.  I'm so happy I got the opportunity to review work of such high caliber.  It's rare to get such treats like this one.  Mikhal Caldwell's music is nothing to be taken lightly.  His vast musical expertise has proven again to be very valuable when it comes to song writing and guitar playing.  Can we say virtuoso?  Mikhal has 30 years plus of musical studying under his belt and I think it's safe to say he can all teach us something we've never heard before.  After hearing this CD, I look forward to exploring some of the odd and rare scales he used and try to incorporate them into my personal playing style.  It's on thing to stay hip, but it's another to stay fresh.  I looked up fresh in the dictionary and you know what?  There was a picture of Mikhal in there, no joke.  Caldwell puts all mainstream players to shame with his knack for being creative and innovative.  Mikhal raised my musical bar instrumental work after listening to "Earth Music."  That title seems to stick with me very well because he blends many styles of music together for a huge multicultural melting pot of music.

     So if your interested in learning more about this amazing guitarist and musician visit his homepage at www.mikhalcaldwell.com.  He has many song samples from this CD and all his others for you to take a listen to and please by all means do.  CDs are for sale at www.guitar9.com.  He also has some live videos for sale as well.  Until next time, shred to live and live to shred!