INDUSTRY REVIEWS OF "Out Of The Shadows"
Taken from ShipWreckIslandStudios.com website.
Review by Jere- 18 February 2005
Track by track breakdown:
1. Face The Truth - The album opens with a combination of overwhelming riffs and some deafening/high pitched vocals of Robert Valdes. This track definitely gets the adrenaline pumping with commanding lyrics and expressive delivery the intensity doesn't let up until the very end of this song. Basically this is the real meaning behind rock 'n' roll that many artists out there today can't fully capture but Mr. Valdes has.... perfectly.
2. I Want Your Love - Face The Truth was just a warm-up as Robert kicks it up a notch with a full 1 minute 13 second intro solo that shows off some striking guitar work although once the vocals come in the listener gets the whole effect with a heavy swagger behind the track. I Want Your Love is not the typical love song and features hints of Y&T and Motley Crue as it's just a raw - grimy rocker and if it came out in the heyday of the metal era it would unquestionably fit well.
3. Hypnotized - Time for things to ease up as Robert's talent for musicianship really stands out plus there is a real hypnotizing effect (pun intended) on the precise mood of the song. What gets to me on the song is how much Valdes sounds eerily similar to one of rock's eminent vocalists: Dave Meniketti.
4. Love Me Or Leave Me - Follows the same lines of the previous mid-tempo track except it features an unrelenting harder edge. The main chorus demonstrates versatility with it being the key factor in terms of unforgettable songwriting and really adds to overall maturity of the album; in essence the song is a spotless masterpiece that just oozes soulful melodic rock.
5. Terror In The Sky - Features more of that timeless bluesy rock swagger but is also the most emotional track on the disc as this is a 9/11 influenced rocker. Its one of the most difficult topics in modern history to deal with and write a song about but sometimes it just has to be done; Valdes does a remarkable job of conveying his thoughts as well as what everyone else felt that tragic day.
6. Close To You - Probably one of the most commercial sounding songs on Out Of The Shadows it harkens back to that 80s pop metal attitude and is reminiscent to a early Winger primarily in arrangement of the main chorus. Nevertheless its an upbeat number which features a structured melody and cunning lyrics.
7. Lost Control - A huge influence on Robert Valdes' career has been Dave Meniketti and Y&T well Lost Control would undoubtedly fit well on any Y&T release, the vocals are practically dead on in terms of sounding like Meniketti. Right from the first note comes a bombardment of insane guitars with proof of that lying around the two minute mark where Valdes unleashes his whole repertoire into a one minute solo truly pure bliss for all guitar fanatics.
8. Alone In The Dark - The CD draws to a close through a haunting instrumental that has a very calming quality to it, I mean at first listen this sounds like something you would find a Neal Schon or Joe Satriani solo outing as Valdes truly excels at his craft of being a very profound/devoted guitarist.
The Rundown:
The San Francisco bay area has been the stepping stone for some of the greatest musicians/rock bands of the last 20 to 30 years. Groups the likes Journey, Huey Lewis and the News, Y&T, and many, many more have had their share of fame. Robert Valdes is a songwriter/musician who mysteriously slipped under the radar but has made a reputation for himself in mid 80s with such groups as Annihilator and Enforcer as well as releasing several solo albums in the early to mid 90s. Valdes mixes fiery/driving guitars with razor-sharp vocals as many in the industry have compared him to Dave Meniketti and Sammy Hagar.
Early January 2005 Robert contacted me and wondered if I would give his 2003 solo disc: Out Of The Shadows a listen and review for www.shipwreckislandstudios.com - So of course I couldn't pass the opportunity to help promote Mr. Valdes' work and let our readers know what the Island thought so lets get down to business shall we??...
+'s (Positives)
+ Robert Valdes: This is truly his album and I mean there are no other backing musicians. The vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums were all recorded by him not only that but the album is written, arranged, and produced by him also. That is very impressive and although it can be a risky choice with the term: One Man Band coming to mind Robert pulls the entire album off without any major flaws.
+ Quality over quantity: The old saying holds true once again, the album clocks in at around a half hour of material and yep you read that right only eight tracks on the whole CD but its truly the quality of the music that truly stands out here.
-'s (Negatives)
- No major nitpicks, complaints, or disputes: Solid musicianship, solid release... enough said.
Overall:
Quite honestly I have no idea behind why I missed this disc in 2003, perhaps it was because Shipwreck Island Studios was just in the early stages of development or maybe it was it was a time in my life where I was still trying to find my own musical tastes, whatever the reasons I thank Robert Valdes for getting in touch with me and bringing Out Of The Shadows to my attention. This independent release is clear-cut hard rock however what really astounds me is the genuine production skills of Valdes as he created a massive sounding guitar driven release, I mean if any big named rock acts heard this album they would be blown away by the complete professionalism and style that this album contains.
Another first-rate CD that I've had the satisfaction of reviewing and just goes to show that it doesn't take a big label or a recording contract to produce outstanding material. Trying to make a living in this business is a tough career choice but Robert Valdes is proof positive that if you have the will and determination and most importantly the passion to create then success isn't measured by being all over mainstream radio or having platinum awards but now of days its more about having the freedom of putting out your own music and sharing it with the rest of the world.
Out Of The Shadows receives a 4.5/5 - Missed this disc the first time around but better late then never...
Favorite songs: Love Me Or Leave Me, Hypnotized, Face The Truth, Lost Control, and Alone In The Dark
So what lies ahead for Robert Valdes well his latest project: Acoustic Journey is set for release in May 2005 and as the title suggests it will be Robert's exploration into the acoustic realm. Acoustic Journey is a step in a another direction then his previous works and that its not metal per say but Robert says he has managed to sneak a few metal solos and there will be one full on ballad with drums, etc. This looks to be some of Robert Valdes best work and rest assured that shipwreckislandstudios.com will have more information as the release date of Acoustic Journey approaches...
Taken from Cutting Edge.net website.
Review by Todd K Smith - 26 February 2003
RV Production mogul, Robert Valdes unleashes his solo effort "Out Of The Shadows" to critical praise. Valdes, a season multi-instrumental talent, spent the '80s in the hard rock outfit Enforcer. The group become a popular regional club act with such hit single favorites as 'The Draft' and 'Cheater'. As the musical landscape changed in the early '90s Valdes pioneered RV Video Productions and moved his talents of rhythm and composition to revolutionizing video production. After a decade of financial success Valdes has returned to his musical roots writing, arranging, producing and performing his current brand of retro rock. Resurrecting the classic elements of hair metal in the vein of Bullet Boys meets Dokken meets Ratt, "Out Of The Shadows" blazes a raging inferno with songs like 'Face The Truth', 'Hypnotized' and 'Terror In The Sky.' Guitar-heavy throughout, the disc plays like the best of "Jock Rock", big production, big songs, big sound. Ambitious as it is, Valdes voice moves from raspy (Face The Truth) to smooth (Close To You). He has his occasional fallouts but over all works well as a one-man band. 'Alone In The Dark' closes out the disc with a bit of Ynwie Malmsteen echoing in the guitar tone.
Taken from Sea Of Tranquility website.
Review by Michael Popke - 20 February 2003
Robert Valdes, a veteran singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from California who got his start in a Kiss tribute band as a kid, finally seems poised to break out of the regional West Coast market and into a whole new realm. His latest solo album, Out of the Shadows — featuring songs all written, arranged, performed and produced by Valdes — has spent more than two months as the top-selling CD from the U.S. mail-order web site Hot Tracks.
Fueled by screaming guitars, snappy arena rock beats and an unbelievably far-reaching voice, this independently released disc recaptures what was so memorable about the Eighties pop-metal scene. Valdes, a guy who counts both David Coverdale and Michael Sweet among his favorite singers and likes Dream Theater as much as Journey, kicks off "Face the Truth" with the kind of yowl you probably haven’t heard for awhile, then follows it up with a massive guitar solo that lacks nothing but pretension. "Close to You" recalls vintage Winger, "I Want Your Love" swaggers like Y&T and the ballad "Hypnotized" rocks with a raw edge, similar to Dokken. Then there’s "Terror in the Sky," a by-the-numbers yet still admirable tune written about 9/11 — a topic many American rockers feel compelled to address these days. The album closes with "Alone in the Dark," a moody instrumental that could have been lifted from a mid-Eighties Scorpions record.
At shorter than 32 minutes, Out of the Shadows needs a bit more weight. But with Valdes predicting he’ll release an album a year from now on, there should be plenty more where this came from …
Taken from Strutter Magazine.
Review by Gabor Kleinbloesem - 19 February 2003
Out of California, USA comes ROBERT VALDES, a talented multi-instrumentalist who sent me his 4th CD ‘Out of the shadows’, which contains 8 tracks. The music is a mixture of Classic Rock, 80s Melodic Hardrock and some Bluesy rock, ending up sounding like a mix between Y&T and KISS. Robert really did everything on his own, not only all instruments, but also production, arrangements and of course the whole writing process was done by Robert himself. And he did a very good job, because his CD sounds pretty good. Robert told me in the studio he wants to do all by himself, but outside the studio he has a whole band around him, so then it’s the ROBERT VALDES BAND. However, on this album Robert does everything alone, and the highlights on ‘Out of the shadows’ are “Face the truth” (good strong 80s midtempo melodic hardrock, with very good vocals, very much like late 80s Y&T), “Hypnotised” (great semi melodic rocker like DOKKEN meets Y&T meets PHIL VINCENT, song with big harmonyvocals during the catchy chorus) and “Lost control” (catchy uptempo melodic rocker). Without a doubt, this is seriously some great stuff from the talented Robert Valdes.
Taken from Melodic Rock.com website.
Review by Andrew McNeice - 17 February 2003
Robert Valdes has been around for sometime as a writer and singer/songwriter - as far back as 1984 with other bands, and has released some instrumental solo CDs. This is his fifth album with vocals and, like everything else on the album, performed by Robert himself.
This is one of those classic American hard rock albums - the type which thankfully forgets about any trends and just features good honest music of the ages. This is from the old school ideas of big guitars and big vocals.
At times I was reminded of Paul Laine's debut solo album Stick It In Your Ear, or perhaps the debut Velocity album.
The guitar sound is a highlight - with some thick Eddie Van Halen style riff's running through the record, topped with some tasteful, well placed solo's.
Valdes has managed to record an album himself without it sounding like a one-man-band. It's well produced and evenly mixed, giving the vocals and all instruments room to breathe.
Robert plans to stay in the limelight now, with more recording and releases planned. If he improves with every release, there will be a lot to look forward to.
The album's running time is the only negative out of everything on offer. A touch of 31 minutes is a little short.
Thankfully though, that leaves no room for any fillers, so if American stadium hard rock with a hard hitting sound and powerful Paul Laine/Sammy Hagar style vocal is your thing then this independent release is highly recommended.
Taken from AOR Dreamzones website.
Review by Nicky Baldrian - 4 February 2003
This is a very strong eight track album of guitar orientated melodic rock from multi talented instrumentalist Robert Valdes who is from San Francisco, a City that is also known as the hometown to the likes of Journey and Johnny Lima and a City I have always wanted to visit and plan to in the next year.
Robert has previously played for local San Francisco bands Black Diamond, Annihilation and Enforcer. I heard Enforcer about a year ago and they showed potential as does Robert's new material which has a great production sound coupled with great catchy melodic rock songs that leap out of the speakers and catch your attention right from the moment the first song 'Face The Truth' bursts into full gear.
With influences running from Van Halen through to Y&T and Journey and more recently Danny Danzi, you can pretty much make up your own mind how the material sounds. It's actually closer to Y&T and Danny Danzi more than the other two mentioned bands, especially on opener 'Face The Truth'. This song is very catchy and hard to ignore, quality well written melodic rock.
Next up is the stomping arena sized anthem called 'I Want Your Love'. This song is one of my favourites as the guitars cook, again this song is like Y&T and is very good song. This is followed by 'Hypnotized' which is a slower melodic piece that glides along effectively. This song reminds me of Loudness and could easily have been on their "On The Prowl" album, are well performed power ballad.
'Love Me Or Leave Me' is all cranking guitars, this one is pretty close to Von Groove and Y&T and is well cool, 'Terror In The Sky' is another stadium sized anthem in the Y&T tradition, it's very melodic with more great axe work which is in the Van Halen style.
'Close To You' is a fun hard rocker whilst 'Lost Control' proves to be another of my favourite tracks. This song is mega catchy and reminds me of Talisman crossed with Y&T and Danny Danzi. The last song 'Alone In The Dark' is a classy instrumental played with tons of emotion.
If Robert is looking for a label I advise him to approach Chavis Records or Shire Records, I think he find himself a good home there.Other than that, you can purchase Robert's album via his website @ www.robertvaldes.com, go on check it out, you'll have a neat suprise with this one.
Taken from Rough Edge.com website.
Review by R Scott Bolton - 22 January 2003
There's a freshness to Robert Valdes's 80s style pop metal that makes his new CD, "Out of the Shadows" (his first in five years) stand out from the other bands that continue to go back to that particular musical well. Listening to this CD, you'll think that the 80s never went away ... and you'll be glad they didn't.
In our interview with Valdes, he states, "... this is the genre of music I grew up listening to, it is the type of music that I write, record and like to listen to. You see, I make the kind of music that I enjoy listening to as a fan." Listening to "Out of the Shadows," you'll be pleased to hear the chunky guitars, hook-ridden choruses, blistering guitar leads and crystal clear vocals. You'll always be surprised, as we were, to discover that all of the music on this CD comes directly from Valdes. That's right - he not only wrote and produced the CD, he performed every instrument hereon.
"Out of the Shadows" speaks volumes of its inspirations. One can hear a little KISS here, a little Stryper there, perhaps a little Poison there. Then there are trickles of Satriani, Bon Jovi, and Van Halen. But these influences are all filtered through Valdes's musical self-expression, making "Out of the Shadows" truly his alone.
The CD features plenty of solid rockers ("Face the Truth," "I Want Your Love," the party-attitude "Close To You,") and soothing "ballads" ("Hypnotized" and the instrumental "Alone in the Dark"). One song, "Love Me or Leave Me," even starts out a little like a Miami Vice theme (but then folds into some Ozzy-style heavy rock). "Terror In the Sky" is a sober, somber track inspired by 9/11. Its place - smack in the middle of the CD - is perfect sequencing.
But the main thing that strikes you about "Out of the Shadows" is Valdes's feeling of freedom. Here's a guy who's been rocking for a long time but who has had to step back for awhile in order to earn a living. Now, with that part of his life secure, he goes back into the recording studio and records exactly the record he wants to record - not something that record executives tell him will sell, not something that his fellow bandmembers think he should alter - just exactly what he wants to communicate. That freedom comes across clearly in "Out of the Shadows," and the listener can't help but envy and admire Valdes's dedication and well-earned creative liberty.
Taken from AOR Europe website.
Review by Kimmo Toivonen - 11 January 2003
Now here's a name to watch out for! Robert Valdes comes...out of the shadows and into the spotlight with an self-produced and financed album that can easily compete with most releases from the independent hard rock labels, when it comes to production and performances. The musical style is melodic hard rock with Robert's furious guitar playing taking the biggest role. He has actually done everything on this album, from writing to singing and playing all instruments. A man of many talents for sure, but I guess he likes to emphasize the "guitar player Robert Valdes", as some of the songs start with a minute or two of guitar shredding before the vocals cut in. Sure enough, Robert's a world class axeman, with a bit of George Lynch in his style. When it comes to vocals, Rob's remind me of Paul Sabu mixed with Dave Meniketti of Y&T.
This CD contains 8 songs, one instrumental and 7 hard rockers in the style of Y&T, Kiss and Dokken. All of the eight songs are quite good, but that "little something" is still missing to take them to the next level. The best tracks "Lost Control" and "Hypnotized" are quite close though. I'm still quite impressed with this album, and if you have enjoyed those bands above or something like Velocity's first album, I seriously recommend that you check out this artist.
Taken from Melodic Rock Fansite website.
Review by Takashi Yamamoto - 29 January 2003
"Out of the Shadows" is the solo album by Robert Valdes from San Mateo California. All songs performed produced and mixed by him. His music style was influenced by Eddie Van Halen's guitar, Sammy Hagar's vocal and Dave Meniketti's guitar and vocal. This CD reminds me of hi-quality heavy metal in the late '80s for example Badlands, Blue Murder and MR. BIG's self titled debut album features hard edged guitar and filled with catchy hooks. Although this CD contains only 8 songs, you'll find his guitars are technically amazing and it's approachable enough for the average music fan, if you listen to his 31 minuets of his music. However, I thought that his songs needs more background vocals just like strong voice of Michael Anthony or Darren Smith.
Rating: 8.0 out of 10
File Under: 1980'S Heavy Metal, Guitar Virtuoso
Recommend if you like:Y&T, Van Halen
Released:Jan. 2003
Taken from Rockzone.com website.
Review by Jason Cipriani - 30 January 2003
The first thing that you notice after listening to Robert Valdes' Out of the Shadows is that Mr. Valdes is one hell of guitar player. Unfortunately, I have never been a fan of guitar heavy, straight forward, rock, but I pride myself on giving credit where credit is due, and the guitar playing on this album is quite good. I do feel like I am trapped in one long guitar solo throughout the entire album, which is bad, but it's a quality solo, which is good.
However, once you get past the guitar solos there isn't much left on this album that doesn't scream either midlife crisis or that Robert Valdes obviously doesn't know what decade it is. The question is where do I start? How about with the album cover itself; a photograph of a guitar, and an out of focus Robert Valdes hiding in the shadow (Out of the Shadows… I get it). Now, the album itself makes it apparent that the Fender that is in focus is his best friend, but this cover isn't exactly something that is going to jump off the shelf and into my hand. This album looks like something my kinda wacky uncle might pick up, but he lives in a mud house in New Mexico, but it that's Robert Valdes' target audience, then more power to him. Another problem I had with this album, visually, was the odd blue tint on the back of the CD. For some reason I have become accustom to most CD releases, that come with full artwork, and a press kit, to have a silver back, but that could just be my high standards shinning through again.
On to the music. Trendy it isn't, but it is good old Rock & Roll. The only problem with that is the word "old." The vocals are not the star of this album, and come to think of it neither are the lyrics. At one point on "I Want Your Love" the vocals hit a note so high and screechy that I don't even think Bob could have hit it with his guitar. "Hypnotized" makes me yearn for the days of the late 80s and early 90s when you couldn't turn on the radio without hearing a rock ballad. The screams of "Yeah, YEah, YEEAAAAH," do bring a smile to my face though. The lyrics are supposedly the "culmination of 5 years of reflection, meditation and soul-searching," and after listening to the album I've decided that Mr. Valdes is in love, and he really wants to be with this person that he loves. Also, someone has lost control on "Lost Control," and now nobody's there. I do, however, want to stress again that the guitar on the album does show a lot of promise, and perhaps that is what Robert Valdes' goal was, and he didn't think that a solo guitar album, without vocals, would sell too well. The last track on the album, "Alone in the Dark," is the one track on the album that supports this theory, since it is just a guitar instrumental track. This track, along with all of the others, emphasizes his ability to rock out on his guitar, unfortunately, there is nothing to distract my A.D.D. inspired attention span for the three minutes and twenty-five seconds that the track continues on.
This isn't necessarily an album for today's "college" audience or younger, who might be concerned with their "image" or who's hot today. This is a good album for fans 80s rock (Van Halen, Poison, Whitesnake, ect.) whose favorite bands aren't necessarily together, or putting out new music. Robert Valdes is a very good substitute for those ears. For the rest of us, Out of the Shadows may only be good for a trip down memory lane (if you can remember back that far). One might also be able to look at this album as ahead of its time since we are due for an 80s revival in the next few years. Look out spandex, here comes Generation Y.
Who knows though, I could be really off on this one, Santana is still around playing the same sound as this, but he does have other people singing on his album, perhaps an idea that Mr. Valdes might want to consider for any future releases, or marketing plans.
Grade: C-
FAN REVIEWS OF "Out Of The Shadows"
Taken from Meniketti.com website.
Review by MontyRob - 21 January 2003
My offical reviews of the great CD Robert sent me in the mail, mind you this is just my opinion of the CD
Face the Truth-First thing that came to mind was "Arena Rock" song pulls you in immediately with the vocals which reminded me of Eric Martin of Mr Big, great harmonies and man can Robert sustain the high notes, The guitar work was consise and had some Dave influence in it with a tinge of George Lynch sound to it as well.
I Want Your Love- Awesome deep guitar sound to start it off, Heavy George Lynch sound and the guitar riffs reminded me of the style used in Loudness- Soldier of Fortune album
This song had me tapping my foot keeping the beat, the 2nd half of the song reminded me of Ratt for some reason, and the ending had me thinking it was Ratt doing "Your in Love" great guitar work Robert I really like this song.
Hypnotized-This is a lighter ballad, I could see myself holding up the lighter and swaying to the song, had a real Stryper feel to it and the vocals had a tinge of Michael Sweet sound, the Solo had Dave written all over it with Roberts own blend of workmanship mixed in but you can tell Dave is an influence, loved the vocals, favorite line is
The door to my heart is locked, but you hold the key. Lots of passion in this song.
Love me or Leave me- A jungle music type opening, that then switched into high gear, reminded me a lot of Dokken's Breaking the Chains, the only problem I had with this song was the Synths... they overpowered the guitar work through my speakers and I felt they took away from Roberts playing.
Terror in the Sky-wow what a heavy bass thumping intro, the solo is just plain spectacular, vocal work is stellar as well, took me a couple of listens to get used to the lyrics though, at first I didnt feel they fit the song but after a few more listens I liked the song more and more.
Close to You-very catchy tune, reminded me of early Trixter with the youthful energy produced.
Lost Control-This is my favorite song, and if this wasnt Robert Valdez then this is Y&T doing Knock you Out. "How many lives did our ignorance cost ?" amazing solo work here, by far the best energy on the album in MY view, would love to feel this one live standing close to the stage because I'm sure your ears would be bleeding.
Alone in the Dark-Instrumental, if you could make love to a guitar then this is it, full passionate lovemaking with rose petals to boot, and you can almost feel Robert playing note for note, the ending came WAAAAY to quick on this song, ends almost abruptly wasnt expecting that.
With the right promotion I think Robert is going have a stellar year just like Dave, the album is solid and doesnt lack in any one area, I'm really hoping he tours my way to catch what I'm thinking will be an exciting live show. Great job and thanks for giving me a copy, I plan on listening to this one for quite some time !!!!
Taken from Meniketti.com website.
Review by RockUFOrever - 21 January 2003
I will just say that to me Roberts CD is very good.I like the complete overall sound and the vocals are very good.
Very good riffs and some stellar guitar work.If you want to say it has a 80's sound to it that's all right with me.Good music is never dated to me.Regardless of what type of music it is.As long as the songs are wrote well and the music is good and there's some good lyrics with a good voice singing them.
I know I have listened to it at least 10 or more times and will continue to give it spins.
Taken from Meniketti.com website.
Review by Student Of Dave - 10 January 2003
I gotta say, this cd is a lot better than I was expecting. (Thanks for the gift also, it looks sweet! Very nicely done.) Usually peoples independent projects suck, and end up sounding so "local". Your cd is certainly an exception. The production is crystal clear. Very "bright" sounding. Everything is right up front, clear, and not drenched in some lame effect> The mix is simple and right on. Nice sounds. Chunky rhythm sound. Great lead tone. Hey Metl, sorry to disappoint you, but that's a drum machine! I can't knock it though, cause I got one too when I'm doing shit on my own. Anyways, your lead playing is strong, and your voice is better than I expected. It's gonna be tough doing all that gritty belting live though, especially if you're going to tour. The songwriting is all very familar, but I don't think you were trying to chart out new territory, but rather an unabashed celebration of the kind of stuff you (we) love. The cd does just what it's supposed to do, and it's all that it promises. Can't ask for more than that. It's a genre specific product that will please those it applies to.
Well done!!
Taken from CD Street.com website.
Review by Joshua Smith - 15 January 2003
Solid Effort by Veteran Rocker!
by Joshua Smith Rating: 10
This album rocks pretty hard. That said, it still has all the melodic qualities that I look for. Robert sounds like David Coverdale on some songs, then a little like Ray Gillen (R.I.P) on others. But overall, his voice is distinctive and has a unique tone unto itself.
I can think of only a few other artists who can sing great, and then also wail on guitar. Robert's guitar work on this cd is awe-inspiring. Every solo is musical, with the speedy licks thrown in at just the right moments.
As you may have guessed, I have been a fan for some time now. I always wait anxiously for each new cd, as I know I will not be dissapointed. And once again, Robert did not dissapoint me.
Get this cd, and get it now! Every song is great and you won't have to skip over any of them.
Taken from CD Street.com website.
Review by Joshua Smith - 17 January 2003
by Robert "Reverb" Tomberlin Rating: 10
Robert Valdes really "ROCKS" and so does he. This guy should be at the top of the list with guitar greats like Joe Satrani and Eddie Van Halen. Then, if that's not enough, you have to give credit to hia absolutely"OUTRAGEOUS" vocals. The artist is awesome and so is his cd "Out Of The Shadows". It's a must for anyone's R&R collection