RockRoast

It seems to be one hundred percent confirmed that guitar wizard Marco Sfogli is returning for James LaBrie’s next solo album.

Of course, the fact that they’ve been “writing tunes” doesn’t mean the record will be out anytime in the near future. And that’s not a commentary on the seemingly inevitable delays of production so much as an acknowledgment that at least one of the band members has something else on his schedule. James LaBrie is committed to touring with Dream Theater from the end of April until early June.

But my hopes are high for the next record, regardless of when it comes out. Sfogli’s recent solo release has proven him to be maturing as a guitarist and as a songwriter. I’ve often criticized Sfogli for wasting his exceptional ability on unmelodic, emotionless, lightning-fast solos and tasteless distortions. But his own solo album, There’s Hope, showed a lot of improvement over his work on LaBrie’s last record, Elements of Persuasion. Amusingly enough, There’s Hope gave me a lot of hope for the remainder of Sfogli’s career. With a little luck, the record he’s working on now will prove that hope to be justified.

But now the strange thing is that, even though I’m a big fan of James LaBrie, he might not be the main reason why I’ll by his next release. It’s hard to decide which I want to hear more…more James or more Marco?

Ever since I heard Marco Sfogli was working on a solo project, I’ve been excited to hear it. Although his work was kind of hit-and-miss on James LaBrie’s Elements of Persuasion, Sfogli had his moments of brilliance. I was looking forward to see what he had to offer as a solo artist.

There’s Hope is an instrumental album, featuring a series of interesting arrangements in which Sfogli’s guitar takes the lead. And the album actually displays a surprising amount of variety. The title track has a bit of a heavy metal in it, while “Spreading the Disease” explores groove rock, “Never Forgive Me” is reminiscent of a soft rock love ballad, and “Texas BBQ,” obviously, carries considerable country influence.

The guitar seems to act as a substitute for a singer, and the melodies crafted by Sfogli’s strings capture an unfortunate range from good to bad. “Memories” has what is perhaps the most melodic, emotional guitar work. But in the case of “Seven,” the melody is aimless and deprives itself of its own context by drowning out the piano arrangement behind it. Another frequent problem is the guitar tone, which is regrettable on several occasions. On “Sunset Lights” and “Andromeda,” Sfogli’s distortion kicks in at all the wrong times, marring the peaceful, beautiful atmospheres of the songs. Odd keyboard patches on “Sunset Lights” and “Genius” also distract the listener from the heart and soul of the music. But as far as complaints go, that’s about all I’ve got.

It’s particularly refreshing that There’s Hope gives Sfogli a chance to express his softer side, in contrast to the bulk of his work on Elements of Persuasion. And he does a fine job, too. Though the album has some problems, as a whole it’s made me respect him a bit more as a musician, and I look forward to his work in the future. Especially since he’s rumored to have been working on another album with James LaBrie.

Perhaps the most convincing praise I can give the record is by mentioning the video I posted a few weeks ago. It’s an impressive performance, but the song it’s taken from didn’t wind up being one of the best on the record. So I can promise you there’s stuff even better than this on There’s Hope.

Best Performance: Marco Sfogli, obviously. He’s the guitarist, in case you hadn’t heard.

Buy it if: You don’t mind instrumental music, you’re a fan of Elements of Persuasion, or you’re going on a 49-minute drive sometime soon.

Rating: 6/10

Available at LionMusic.com

Also check out the running list of best 2008 albums for updates.

I should have thought of this a long time ago. At the end of the year I’ll be drawing up a Best-of-2008 list just like everybody else, but I’d like to try and predict what that list will be. This is a little difficult because there’s plenty of time left in the year for albums that aren’t even rumored yet to be rumored, written, recorded, and released before the year ends. But with a little research and a handy crystal ball, I’ve postulated that, come the end of the year, my list might look a little bit like this:

PROJECTED TOP TEN ALBUMS OF 2008
1. Ayreon - 01001101
Available at Amazon.com
2. Opeth - Watershed
Available from Roadrunner Records on May 30.
Official Site
3. Marco Sfogli - There’s Hope
Available from Lion Music on February 15.
Official Site
4. Green Day - ???
2007 Interview with Billie Joe Armstrong
5. 3 Doors Down - 3 Doors Down
Available from Universal Republic Records on May 6.
Official Site
6. Coldplay - ???
Expected in June. Produced by Brian Eno.
7. True Symphonic Rockestra - Concerto in True Minor
To be released on March 28th…label details a bit sketchy.
Official site with several free tracks for download
8. Weezer - ???
Release date unknown
9. The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath
Available at Amazon.com
10. Michelle Branch - ???
Expected in summer
Official Site

Other possibilities that seem unlikely to make it out by the end of 2008:
Superior - New World Order
Breaking Benjamin’s fourth album
Nickelback’s sixth album
Muse’s fifth album
James LaBrie’s second album

Any of those last few maybes could be a contender for the top few spots, but I don’t have enough faith in them to assume they’ll be out by the time 2009 rolls around. Without them, it could still be a pretty good year for music. But with them, it could be a great year.

We’ll see how things work out.