Nick Andrew - Solo? (2005)Self-released

Nick Andrew comes from Scotland, but then moved to London. He was taught by a guitarist Eddie Stewart and a jazz pianist Dave Latchaw. It prepared him for playing in many various musical styles - from pop music to death metal. Nick played along with Mains Jam (jazz/fusion), The Guilty Party and Curfew (jazz/fusion). "Solo?" is his debut neoclassical album, on which he handled the whole instrumentation.

From Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Flight of the Bumblebee" he produced a paraphrase titled "The Flight of the Bumble Blues". It is the neoclassical masterpiece with a bit bluesy touches. Here he plays ferocious and blistering on one hand, and also is able to perform in a subdued way. His interpretation is lush in comparison to the original and inimitable in a sense. The opening track convinced me he is shockingly gifted and ingenious artist. Playing Niccolo Paganini's "24th Caprice", Nick "struts" through the guitar neck striking the strings nobly and producing a solemn echo effect. His first full-original composition on the album is "Concerto for Electric Guitar and Orchestra" that is characterized by a fabulous mood, lofty atmosphere, great arrangements, magic tones, fantastic guitar tricks and it sounds like a movie soundtrack divided into three movements: Allegro, Adagio and very Allegro (I think Nick actually meant "Allegretto"). Nick's guitar manner is exciting and powerful. His virtuosity and mastery of the guitar is exquisite, so the concerto is also bounty and awesome. A nice accent for me is "Nocturne" that was written by my homegrown great composer - Frederic Chopin. Its merit is unorthodox approach to the original version, yet with romantic elements preserved. Last but one "Cherubs Fairy Dance" is vivid and consisted of some jazz/fusion ingredients what makes me think of Al Di Meola's works a little bit. The crowning "L'amour d'hier" could have been included in "Concerto", since it is marked by an outstanding finger dexterity and a great sense of melody and mood.

Nick is an ace who proves it with his versatility and the guitar command. A benchmark of this release's evaluation is an artistic level, and it is really high indeed. Nick Andrew doesn't replicate classical works thoughtlessly, but digs them out to perform in his unique style. They are neither rigid, nor played in accordance with any templates, however strongly embedded in the classical music tradition. If you like the music of Kevin Ferguson, Uli Jon Roth and James Byrd, you shouldn't be disappointed with "Solo?".