Graham Bonnet Band/London,UK 2017

Our Graham Bonnet teamed up with the suddenly resurrected 80s neo-classical hero. The second installment of his latest and best live album is already here! Anyway, the recently released “U.K. 2017” was a shock. Joey Tafolla, who was the signboard of the prestigious Shrapnel in the same era as Yngwie Malmsteen, joined the GRAHAM BONNET BAND (hereinafter GBB) by surprise. The latest live performance was completely drawn by the master of the leaked music from the people involved. This is the second installment, and is a superb audience recording of the “London performance on November 29, 2017”, also recorded by the same people involved. First of all, let’s check the position of the show in the timeline for those who missed the impact of “U.K. 2017”. [2017] ・January 6th-March 4th: North America #1-2/Europe #1 (11 shows) ・March 13th-16th: Japan #1 (3 shows) ・April 14th-June 3rd: Europe #2 (10 shows) {June 27th: Joey Tafolla joins} ★July 15th: Germany (1 show: MSF) ・July 21st-29th: Europe #3 (5 shows) ★October 15th+16th: Japan #2 (2 shows: MSF) ★October 25th-November 5th: Europe #4 (9 shows: MSF)・November 18th-December 5th: Europe #5 (15 performances) ←※Here※ ・December 11th-16th: North America #3 (3 performances) [2018] ・January 11th-17th: North America #4 (3 performances) ★March 6th-April 3rd: North America #5 (20 performances: MSF) *Note: The “・” mark is GRAHAM BONNET BAND, and the “★” mark is MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST. This is Graham’s 2017. He came to Japan in March with ALCATRAZZ/GBB and in October with MICHAEL SCHENKER FEST (hereinafter MSF), but this work is different from either of them. Joey Tafolla joined in June, and it is the “new GBB” that is performing a neo-classical show that far exceeded expectations. They are alternating between MSF and are currently entering “North America #3”. The London performance of this work is the 10th concert of the previous “Europe #5”. There are two points about this work! One is the sound, and the other is the band’s familiarity. First of all, the sound is interesting, but this time it is the best audience sound unique to those involved. In terms of balance, this time is No. 1. In detail, the Leicester performance of the previous work “U.K. 2017” was “clear but the drums stand out”, and the Belfast performance was “guitar and vocals stand out in full”. In comparison, this work has the same clarity of the guitar and vocals as before, and the bass’s deep bass is firmly captured. You can feel the “band” feeling more than ever before. Well, since it was recorded by the same people involved, you can imagine the quality. What I’m most interested in is the essential performance. This is… amazing! The previous work “U.K. 2017” surprised us with a neo-classical world that overturned expectations, but this work is even more refined. That’s because this unit is still just born. We are in the stage of getting used to the songs and combinations with each performance. “U.K. 2017” was the 10th or 11th performance since Joey joined, but this work is the 15th. To be honest, we haven’t “completely digested” it yet, but it has definitely evolved. The symbol of this is the difficult song “Jet To Jet”. It was pretty crazy in “U.K. 2017”, but this work has been refined to the point of “almost there!” (On the other hand, the guitar solo in “Stand In Line” is tattered, so it’s not a complete evolution…). In the previous work, I was shocked by the vividness of the neoclassical songs, starting with the super rare “Starcarr Lane”, but the Joey effect is not limited to that. Even in other repertoires, the neoclassical feeling that peeks out here and there while placing importance on the original is delicious. For example, the new song “California Air (Better Here Than There)” from “THE BOOK”. The original Conrad Pessinard was good at tapping and was more like Vai, but Joey adds some neo-classical fast playing to it. He also adds a sweeping rapid-fire touch to “Skyfire” from the Vai era, which is different from the original’s flying solo. It’s still subtle, but it’s refreshing. With previous guitarists, I was worried about how much he would reproduce it, but with Joey, I’m looking forward to seeing how much he will change it. The more he plays, the more I worry about Graham. After all, he’s always been unstable, and on the 23rd of this month he will turn 70. No matter how much I worry about him, he’s evolved completely! He’s still in top form, and he sings “Jet To Jet,” which was a terrible song on “U.K. 2017” (except for the highest note) beautifully! No, really, even MSF should sing this much… Graham Bonnet is in top form, singing in a dignified yet beautiful neo-classical sound. Who would have thought that the beautiful world that he had given up on long ago would be revived in 2017? Again, the GBB in this work is still in development. Some songs that were not played in “U.K. 2017” are good, and vice versa. However, it has been a really long time since we have seen a unit that makes you want to pay attention to that. This work is a live album that runs parallel to the process of such evolution. Cry. Cry out loud. Your tears will become crystal and reach the GRAHAM BONNET BAND! Live at the Underworld, London, UK 29th November 2017 TRULY PREFECT/ULTIMATE SOUND(from Original Masters) Disc 1(46:48) 1. Intro. 2. Too Young to Die, Too Drunk to Live 3. All Night Long 4. Night Games 5. California Air (Better Here Than There) 6. God Blessed Video 7. Stand in Line 8. Island in the Sun 9. Desert Song 10. Starcarr Lane 11. Jet to Jet Disc 2 (46:38) 1. Intro. 2. S.O.S. 3. Into the Night 4. Samurai 5. Skyfire 6. Since You Been Gone 7. Assault Attack 8. Eyes of the World 9. Hiroshima Mon Amour 10. Lost in Hollywood Graham Bonnet – Vocals Joey Tafolla – Guitars Beth-Ami Heavenstone – Bass Jimmy Waldo – Keyboards Mark Benquechea – Drums