If you are not yet familiar with the name Rick Graham, I have a sneaking suspicion that not only will he be the guitarists name on everyone's lips but also that he will take his place amongst the biggest names in the guitar world like Vai, Satriani and Govan, in the not-too-distant future. If you think that claim sounds far fetched - read on!

Rick is a UK guitarist and Suhr Artist, based in Norfolk, who has just released a solo CD entitled Inside Out. Do Fret offers a review of this amazing piece of work.



Inside Out clocks in at just short of 45 minutes and 9 tracks and is a display of technical ability, the craft of instrumental song writing, musical knowledge, taste, tone and production. This is one of the finest CD's I have heard in some time.

The first track, Thin Ice, opens with other-wordly keyboards and clean guitar playing sliding octaves, fast picked runs and bluesy bends, before the distorted guitar enters after about 35 seconds. And it hits you. The tone Rick gets is very distinctive  - piercing, but never shrill; full of clarity and bottom end - it screams at you. You know from here on in that you are listening to something special.

The tracks picks up at about 1:20 with the main melody over some really nice changes that have quite a bluesy, almost jazzy feel to them. At 2:27 there is a fast ascending line - one of many spots on the album that will have you scratching your hand in wonderment and asking yourself "what did he do there"?! There is a very stong sense of melody in Rick's playing and the track progresses through an insane tapped lick at 3:47 to some uber-smooth legato and pinch harmonics and an amazing neck pick up tone. There are lots of notes in places but you feel that not a single one is out of place and all serve a purpose.

The title track, Inside Out is next. This is a majestic, soulful piece - whilst it feels like a ballad, it lifts your spirits through the triumphant sounding choruses. At 1:40 is a part tapped legato lick that brings Satriani to mind. It progresses through a guitar and keyboard unison to some of the most wicked vibrato you will hear to the main solo, which is a tour de force in shred - sweeps, speed picked alternate lines, blues based-licks and screaming harmonics are all here - and all done with a depth of feel and sure-ness of touch that us mere mortals can only dream about! Rick's phrasing is just breath taking - he leaves a space in his playing where necessary and when a wants to let rip he is not short of the ability to do so with blinding effect.



Track 3 is Just a Dream and opens with a "just breaking up" clean guitar sound which is simply stunning. The main melody comes in over arpeggiated chords and demands to be heard - the drum sound is huge. The notes in the main melody scream with a passion that you feel is genuine. One of the things about Rick's playing is his melody - his lines are so melodic and memorable and this is one of the overwhelming aspects to this CD - melody and songs, that happen to contain some of the most amazing technical playing you're likely to hear. You get the feeling that the song comes first, which is a rarity for some players. This track evoked memories for me of some Vai material - specifically Liberty from Passion & Warfare.

Track 4 features another side to Rick's talents - classical guitar playing. The piece is Fugue, by J.S. Bach. It's a beautiful piece of music experltly played and the acoustic tone is superb.

Track 5, Edge of the Earth, is dedicated to, and inspired by Captain Joseph Kittinger, a Vietnam Veteran and member of the American Air Force who holds the record for the highest freefall jump ever - some 102,800 feet! Yikes! Worth noting that Captain Kittinger is alive and well and is infact advising the Red Bull Stratos Project which is attempting to break that record and send someone plummeting to Earth from 120,000 feet! Rather them than me.

Edge of the Earth is perhaps the heaviest track on the CD, opening with a distorted riff that is initially mixed to make it sound like it's being played through an old radio. It initially brings to mind Petrucci's Damage Control. The main melody features screaming pinched harmonics and staccato lines whilst the solo guitar soars above it with some high register bends. The 2:57 mark is another scratch your head moment as arpeggios descend, along with pedal point licks and a furious flurry of notes whizz by. The crushing riff returns and sounds huge. The production really shines here and there is a real depth to it. The CD was mixed and mastered by NY based guitarist and Guitar World columnist Carl Roa, and credit where it's due - this is one of the finest sounding CD's from a production standpoint that I've heard in a long time.

Track 6 is again dedicated to Captain Kittinger and is aptly entitled Freefall. It starts with an atmospheric sounding keyboard/ flanged vocal reciting the Lord's Prayer. You can almost picture the scene as Kittinger leans out from the Excelsior III over the Earth; praying for a safe landing, his heart beating in his mouth, as reflected in the track, before he falls, reaching a maximum speed of 614mph, portayed by a series of ascending and descending arpeggios over a series of descending chords which, even if you didn't know the subject matter, really evokes a feeling of falling through the atmosphere!

A video featuring Rick playing the arpeggios from Freefall can be found on You Tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rsrIXK9I8s

Track 7, It Never Rains, is a ballad that in my mind will reach into your soul; grab it and keep a piece of it forever. It is an absolutely stunningly beautiful piece that (I'm not ashamed to say) has actually moved me to tears on occassion. Much like the late, great John Peel and his reaction everytime he heard Does This Train Stop in Merseyside, by the band Amsterdam, I cannot fail to be moved every time I hear this track.

It portrays a journey through difficult times to a brighter future through some of the most heartfelt playing ever to be recorded. Guitarists often ask what is "feel". The next time I am asked that question I will use this track as a definition.

The main guitar soars over an acoustic backing and at 3:26 the tone is almost violin or cello like in sound. Beautiful. 4:01 is another scratch your head moment where the lick repeats a few notes over at a terrifying pace before ascending in an almost waterfall like sound - I guarantee you will be hitting the reverse button on your CD at this point. The track takes you on a journey and ultimately leaves you with a sense (sorry Marco!) that there's hope.

Track 8, The Art of Love, is another example of Rick's acoustic playing and has a Latin feel to it, along with some pretty nifty fleet fingered picking a la John McLaughlin and again, a strong melody.

The closer, Lullaby is a short piece with some lovely changes that proves that Rick puts melody and songs first. It's a soothing finale to the CD and wraps up what to me, was a musical journey through one of the finest intrumental guitar CD's I've ever listened to.

You can pick up a copy of the CD from Rick's site direct and use Pay Pal, so it's quick and easy. If you are a fan of guitar playing, you really owe it to yourself to pick up a copy and spread the word about this incredible musician:

http://www.rick-graham.co.uk/shop.html

There you can also enquire about lessons with Rick, who is an established teacher to boot!

Review by Trevor Beckett/ Do Fret
June 2010