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.

The man’s got a new solo record coming out soon.

Never heard of him? That’s no surprise. The only reason I know of him is because of his guitar work on Elements of Persuasion, an album by Dream Theater’s James LaBrie. Apparently Sfogli has worked on several other projects, too, and he’s managed to gain enough notoriety to try his hand at a solo career.

The man can play the guitar like nobody’s business. He has some serious talent. But I’m a little critical of him because several of his solos on Elements of Persuasion consisted of uninspired, unmelodic, speedy flurries of unrelated notes. He can play faster than most people can think, but speed does not equate to quality. But recently this video surfaced on YouTube, and if this is any indication of the rest of the album, his upcoming release may be more melodic and more enjoyable than I initially assumed.

Marco Sfogli’s There’s Hope is scheduled to be released on February 15th, 2008 by Lion Music.