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ALBUM
REVIEWS
DARYL
STUERMER |
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ALBUM
RATING SYSTEM |
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***** |
An
excellent album. Strong effort from beginning to end! A must own! |
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**** |
A
very good album. A few low points but, overall, a decent effort.
Recommended. |
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*** |
A
good album. Several weak points detract from the album, but it's still
worth owning. |
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** |
A
mediocre album. Unless you're a real fan, you might not like this album
very much. |
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* |
A
poor album. Stay away from this one unless you are a hardcore fan! |
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Daryl
Stuermer - Another Side of Genesis (2000) |
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WOG
RATING: ***
On the heels of Steve Hackett's tribute to Genesis comes Daryl's homage to
the band. Like Hackett's album, Stuermer's Another Side of Genesis focuses
strictly on the years he was affiliated with the band, 1978-1992, but that
is where the comparison ends. Stuermer's album reworks the music of
Genesis in varying shades of instrumental jazz ranging from contemporary
'smooth jazz' to Latin jazz to acid jazz to rock-laden jazz fusion and
beyond! Surprisingly, Stuermer keeps
his arrangements fairly true to the original compositions. Where the album
gets its character, however, is from not only the new arrangements but in
the diversity of Stuermer's seamless blend of all these musical
styles.
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One of the interesting aspects of Another Side of Genesis is that
seems to gain momentum at several points as the album progresses starting
with mellow tunes and working up to songs like "Land of
Confusion" or "Turn It On Again," the latter of which, in
my opinion, is one of the best jazz interpretations on the album.
The album showcases Stuermer's guitar playing in a way that we, the
listener, would never have heard while he was on the road with Genesis.
Here, we see Daryl's versatility as he sounds just as comfortable with
acoustic guitar as with electric guitar. Another Side of Genesis is
a great introduction for the Genesis fan who is interested in checking out
Daryl's solo efforts for the first time or for the jazz enthusiast who
simply wants to hear what a great jazz guitarist can do with finely
crafted pop songs. |
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Daryl
Stuermer - Waiting In The Wings (2001) |
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WOG RATING: ***
Waiting In The Wings is, without question, one of Stuermer's
brightest moments as a jazz solo artist. His first two solo albums (Steppin'
Out and Live & Learn), which both have strong moments, pale
in comparison to the cohesion on this project. Not only does Stuermer have
a solid band in place with the likes of bassist Eric Hervey, drummer John
Calarco, and pianist Kostia, but he delivers a release that succeeds in
providing a fantastic 'live in the studio' feel. The album also features
special guest Luis Conte, a noted jazz percussionist from Phil Collins
solo touring band.
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Among
the stand-outs on the album are the title track, "Wherever You
Are", "Deja Blue", "Copenhagen" and
"Transatlantic." Once again, Stuermer shows his masterful chops
as one of jazz's premier guitarists with a solid set of ten well-honed
tracks of rock fusion influenced smooth jazz. Musicianship aside, Waiting
In The Wings probably stands out most among Stuermer's catalog,
because it strays, ever so slightly, from the smooth jazz grooves that
became incredibly popular in the late '80s and throughout the '90s in
exchange for elements of '70s era jazz, with that great fusion-esque sound
that almost reminds me at times of some of his guitar playing with Jean
Luc-Ponty or George Duke. It is a style I hope Stuermer continues to
reminisce further in the future. |
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Daryl
Stuermer - Retrofit (2004) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
Retrofit is a refreshing change from other Stuermer albums. Yes,
the album still has a predominant smooth jazz backbone, but there is a
definite return to his '70s jazz fusion roots on this record - more so
than ever before. The end result is a hybrid "smooth fusion"
album with a little more pizzazz and kick than we've heard from Daryl in a
while, and a seemingly logical progression from his last solo album, Waiting
In The Wings. Stuermer continues to use the same musicians from his
last outing, and the cohesion remains a constant throughout the nine
tracks that comprise Retrofit. Among
the stand-out tracks on the album are the title cut; "Zanzibar,"
which really showcases Daryl on acoustic guitar; "Midnight
Traveler" and a great jazz instrumental version of "The Least
You Can Do" which was co-written with Phil Collins (an alternate pop
version with vocals appears on Collins' Testify album). Despite one
or two songs which are heavily (or should I say overly) saturated with
smooth jazz, this album is a solid offering from beginning to end. I hope
that Stuermer continues to travel even further down the path of jazz
fusion in the future and, someday, abandons the smooth jazz arena
completely. This album leaves me eager to hear where Daryl will go
next!
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Daryl
Stuermer - The Nylon String Sampler (2005) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
The Nylon String Sampler is a compilation of acoustic tracks from Stuermer's solo
efforts from 1998's Live and Learn through his 2004 Retrofit
album. Among the eleven tracks that comprise this set, four of them come
from the Retrofit album including personal favorites like
"Midnight Traveler" and "Zanzibar." For those who have
heard Stuermer's records, you won't find the heavy influence of tracks
from Retrofit surprising since it is by far his best solo album to
date. Also included are two tracks from Waiting In The Wings, three
tracks from Another Side of Genesis and two from Stuermer's Live
and Learn album. Perhaps
not surprisingly, his solo debut, Steppin' Out, is neglected
completely, most likely due to fact that it was on GRP Records (Oh, pesky
world of licensing!), and not Urban Island Records like the rest of
Stuermer's projects. Despite this, the collection provides a thoughtful
introduction to the novice Stuermer enthusiast spanning most of his
arsenal of material recorded over the past six years. This album is the
perfect starting point if you are curious about trying out Daryl's solo
works.
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Daryl
Stuermer - Rewired: The Electric Collection (2006) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
Rewired: The Electric Collection, is in many ways, the bookend to
2005's The Nylon String Sampler. Culled from the Urban Island
back catalog, Stuermer's latest collection highlights the electric side of
his music including tracks from Retrofit, Waiting In The Wings,
and Live and Learn. Much like The Nylon String Sampler, this
album is a great place to start if you are unfamiliar with Stuermer's solo
work. Excluded in this compilation are any songs from Another Side
of Genesis and Steppin' Out (the latter of which is clearly
omitted for the reasons spelled out above).
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Daryl
Stuermer - Go (2007) |
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WOG
RATING: ****
With few exceptions, Daryl Stuermer has
largely become synonymous with mellow smooth jazz guitar rather than the
sort of rock based jazz fusion guitar work that fans might have expected
after seeing him play live at a Genesis gig. Of course, Rewired: The
Electric Collection culled together moments that deviated from the
smooth jazz genre, but being labeled as a smooth jazz musician would have
been a very fair assessment, at least since his sophomore solo album,
Live and Learn. While there have been obvious indicators that
Stuermer was slowly moving back toward a more rock-based style of guitar
playing (in my opinion, dating back to 2001's Waiting in The Wings),
I can say without hesitation that is this truly the Daryl Stuermer album I
have waited for since his 1988 rock influenced solo debut, Steppin' Out.
Daryl's relentlessly firey guitar riffs soar through an almost progressively
peppered rock 'n roll fusion hybrid from beginning to end. Without any
question, as a whole, this is one of Stuermer's best instrumental albums to
date and one that Genesis fans will easily embrace. Go, buy it!
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OTHER ALBUMS FEATURING DARYL STUERMER:
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Sweetbottom
- Live: The Reunion (2003) |
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WOG
RATING: **
In the 1970s, guitarist Daryl Stuermer was a member of Sweetbottom, a
5-piece jazz fusion band that regularly toured the mid-western United
States. Almost thirty years later, the band has reformed with original
members Stuermer, brother Duane Stuermer on bass, Warren Wiegratz on sax,
and Mike Murphy on drums, along with new addition Kostia on keyboards.
This album, Live: The Reunion, captures the reunited group live
from Milwaukee, Wisconsin in December 2002 revisiting the songs and
arrangements from their past with a few, more modern influences for good
measure. The album features predominantly Sweetbottom penned tunes, and while the
album is clearly fusion-based, it is heavily perforated with a strong
smooth jazz influence. Surprisingly, only one track on the album shares a
co-writing credit with Daryl Stuermer. Personally, I was expecting a
little less in the way of smooth jazz on this release since it was
revisiting the set list from a band that has remained dormant since the
'70s, but all 8-tracks are consistently piquant with unyielding
musicianship. It will be interesting to see if Sweetbottom records any new
material together and how the style of that new album might differ from
this release. Hopefully such a release will shed some of the dominant
smooth jazz influence that almost detracts a bit from an otherwise good
jazz album.
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** More Daryl Stuermer
reviews coming soon. **
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