Greg Howe, Victor Wooten & Dennis Chambers – Extraction (2003)

I am not really sure if Greg Howe ever left, but for me he hasn't done anything worth listening to for about 10 years.(Funny how that happens when instrumental guitarists get the idea of adding lyrics) Howe is another one of the Shrapnel records/Mike Varney discovered "Classical Fusion" guitarists to now be on Varney's Tone Center Fusion label. I don't know if Varney is trying to help out old friends but with recordings like this and "CAB" I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. By hooking up Greg Howe with bassist extraordinaire Victor Wooten and the unreal Dennis Chambers on Drums, Varney gave me a reason to give Howe a try. This disc does for Greg Howe what CAB did for Tony Macalpine. That is, it has allowed old fans to hear what these guys can do now that they have developed into musicians that can interact with others.( and if they always could they waited decades to show it). This disc shows that Howe was the only member of the Shrapnel Family that knew how to combine "Shred" with "Groove". Yes, there are Jazz musicians that can do that even better than Howe; However. this is the best disc by Howe since his Solo debut on Shrapnel well over a decade ago. Unlike some other Tone Center releases, Howe lets Wooten and Chambers lend a hand into the overall sound. These two weren't put into the background, instead each one is given opportunities to do their thing. Howe, of course, is all over this record but it doesn't sound like a solo record at all but a genuine collaboration. I don't know why Howe doesn't list keyboardist Dave Cook on the cover, because he contributes a lot to this recording. The music is mostly Metal/Fusion/Funk and Howe can compose interesting music. If you like Howe's music then you'll love this. There is a solo piece entitled "A Delicacy" that sounds like a two-handed fantasy tap piece which would have been perfect on a Howe disc from 15 years ago. The band's version of "Proto Cosmos" is also pretty weak but you can count on one hand the amount of guitarists that can hold their own with Holdsworth. At least he tried. The rest of the songs let the whole band contribute and/or are Howe doing what he does best. My personal Favorite is "Contigo" because all of the members contribute and I've never heard Howe add latin influences to his playing. Nice to hear Howe trying something new and this one works. I also recommend this disc to people that like the other tone center releases. I found it to be the best thing that Howe has done in over a decade, and I hope that he continues to work with other outstanding musicians.

Download-Link (Part 1):

http://rapidshare.com/files/93601539/2003_-_Extraction.part1.rar.html

Download-Link (Part 2):

http://rapidshare.com/files/93601780/2003_-_Extraction.part2.rar.html