Paul Rose - Double Life (2013) CDRip

Paul Rose is without doubt one of the most unique and talented guitarists in the world today. Fundamentally a rock guitarist, his extraordinary playing style touches on blues, country, jazz and folk, blended together into a style that is entirely his own. He was born in Newcastle and started playing at an early age. His natural gift shone through by the age of 16 with him playing regularly on the Newcastle live scene with some of the most popular local bands of the day. Hank Marvin was the first guitarist he saw play live in 1978. Since then Paul has released several albums, selling worldwide to an ever increasing circle of fans. Coupled with his stunning live shows, built over years of tough performing experience, Paul is now gaining the worldwide recognition he deserves. In 1991 Rory Gallagher awarded Paul a Fender '62 Reissue Strat, with a Vox AC30, in a Fender- sponsored competition that invited guitarists from all over the UK to appear in local music shops. Entrants were required to play in front of a video camera using the guitar and amp in question, without any pedals, to be edited and shown to Rory at a later date. Out of 1000 guitarists, Rory selected Paul as the winner and described him as "a hot player with a hot future." Having also won "Guitarist of the Year" in Guitarist Magazine a couple of years later, Paul is, without doubt, a force to be reckoned with. In 2011 Paul broke new ground in Germany and played several successful tours and received excellent media attention. He is fully endorsed by Steinberg, IK Multimedia, GHS strings and the legendary pickup maker Seymour Duncan who names Paul as his 2nd favourite player between Jeff Beck & Danny Gatton. He s also endorsed by LsL guitars in Los Angeles and plays three custom hand built guitars. Paul s 12th and new album Double Life was recorded at the Steakhouse in Hollywood, CA, which is owned in part by Steve Lukather, and has been used by many guitar orientated artists such as Jeff Beck, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen etc. The musicians met for the first time on day one of rehearsals, and the album was rehearsed, recorded and mixed from start to finish in 15 days. The tracks were recorded live with almost no overdubs or fixes and as most of the material was not heard prior to rehearsals, the music was spontaneous and fresh. John Wooler took the role of executive producer by bringing together the musicians, studio and material. The album was mastered by Jon Astley (The Who, George Harrison, Tears For Fears, The Sex Pistols, Led Zeppelin, ABBA etc.) Musicians on the album are:-Randy Jacobs - rhythm guitar, (Bonnie Rait, B.B. King, Was Not Was, Elton John, Kris Kristofferson); Richie Morales drums (Al Di Meola, Mike Stern, The Brecker Brothers).; Kenny Hutchison bass (Paul Rose Band stalwart); Tio Banks keyboards (Was Not Was, Duran Duran); Terry Evans - vocals on Dark End Of The Street, Just A little B it, Uphill Climb (35 years with Ry Cooder); Sweet Pea Atkinson vocals on Cold Sweat, Straighten It Out, I Don't Wanna Be Right, Ball & Chain, Stormy Monday (Was Not Was, Lyle Lovett); Raffia Ford vocals on Honey Hush, Crazy About Baby (Aretha Franklin, Gloria Estafan, Melissa Etheridge, P Diddy); Bernard Fowler vocal on Drowning In A Sea Of Love (backing vocals, the Rolling Stones for 25 years) It s a superbly conceived and brilliantly played homage to soul, funk and r&b, shot through with intense rock elements in the solos. The album provides the Newcastle born guitar maestro and former Guitarist of the Year with a long overdue context for his massive talent.