Steve Stevens – Memory Crash
Magna Carta
www.magncarta.net

Rating: A

Steve Stevens is most famous for being Billy Idol’s guitar player. His licks on "White Wedding," "Rebel Yell" and "Flesh for Fantasy" are some of the most famous from the 1980's. While these are grandiose and historic moments in rock, it is really a shame that 99% of the rock population only knows Stevens for his work with the spike-haired punker as Stevens is one of the most eclectic and powerful guitar players on planet Earth.

Stevens is a true virtuoso of the instrument. His guitar playing encompass styles as diverse as Flamenco, Metal, Surf Rock, Jazz improv and Blues. In addition to having the chops of a Master, he also is an accomplished composer and arranger. Finally, after two decades, Stevens has taken the time to release an album that truly shows both his talents and his different musical styles.

Memory Crash is a masterpiece of mostly instrumental guitar playing, though there are a couple of songs with lyrics, most notably an amazing rendition of the Robin Trower classic "Day of the Eagle." The album see Stevens perform solos and rhythms that are both melodic and complex in nature. "Small Arms Fire" is the perfect example to show that Stevens belongs in the same league Satriani and Vai.

There is not a weak track on the album. "Heavy Horizon" opens the disc and sets the tone for everything that follows. The entire disc is a guitar players wet dream and anyone who reads Classic Rock Revisited NEEDS to click the link at the beginning of this review and buy the CD. Steve Stevens is keeping guitar rock alive in a time when the industry wants to see it die. We suggest you fight back with a rebel yell and snap this one up and play it loud and often.

– Jeb Wright