Chris Brooks - The axis of all things - Review

Chris brooks is one of Australia's best kept secrets, if you're a local I'm sure you would have heard about him but if you're from any other part of the world and haven't heard about him so far, he is definitely one guitarist you should look up. For today we are reviewing his latest album "The axis of all things". Before we go about it, a special thanks to Chris for sending me a review copy of this one, had awesome fun listening to it! 

Here's the track listing for the album 

The Axis of all things :

1. Prelude
2. The axis of all things
3. Transfiguration
4. Open doors
5. Not the day, nor the hour
6. Wisdom RD
7. Hammer's heart
8. Feeding the Myth
9. In and out of dreams (Axis pt2)
10. Velvet Claws

I know that sometimes it gets a little boring to read these reviews, so what I'd suggest is listen to some of the samples from Chris's site while you go through the review. Here's the link to the samples http://www.chrisbrooks.com/listen

Chris is the kind of guitarist who would definitely put melody first and shred second but at the same time he's a rare breed of guitarists who can create a perfect blend melody and shred. I was listening to his tracks for close to an hour, and I never felt like he is loosing control or shredding too much or compromising the tempo of the song to put across his melodies. An overall top class album which I would definitely recommend. 

The album has Chris playing the guitars and the keyboards. On the Bass we have Nate Apparati and on the drums, Peter McDonaugh & Gordon Rytmeister. Ofcourse there are several surprises in the album in the form of guest guitarists such as Brett Garsed, Rick Graham & Lord Tim

This is definitely the kind of album that I would love to listen to when I'm alone in my room and just wanna listen to something really melodic. It's almost hypnotic at times and the melodies are so sweet that they can captivate you for hours. Axis of all things is definitely the kind of album that deserves a listen with closed eyes and be in a complete state of trance. 

Along with the review copy, Chris was nice enough to send in his thoughts behind the songs, which I must add, is beautiful. With his permission, I'm gonna put them up here so that you guys can understand the guy a little better. 

THE THOUGHTS BEHIND THE NOTES - By Chris Brooks

1. PRELUDE*

I’ve always loved the simple beauty of this melody from Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s ‘Te Deum’, so I adapted it to open the album. It’s always a mood-lifter for me.  It was a last minute decision to have that noodling at the beginning, but I really liked the idea of starting the album with guitar alone, as if to enjoy a quiet word with you before the band arrives.

2. THE AXIS OF ALL THINGS

I’m always imagining where a song will sit on an album when writing, and this one had that “first song” vibe from the beginning (even though there’s a prelude).  Hat-tip to Brett for that little pattern that got the whole thing rolling! The title refers to that thing that you feel allows you to be who you are… the thing that is the source of your happiness or being.

3. TRANSFIGURATION*

A jam over a drum groove, some new chord voicings, a melody jam overdub, and this new, funky, cruisy track was on its way!  My favorite part of recording this song (besides the hook) was doing the solos before each chorus. I tried to get new things out of my finger tone and phrasing.  I also had a blast doing the riffing where the song “transfigures”.

4. OPEN DOORS

I considered covering a Joey Tafolla tune for this album since I loved his “Infra Blue” album in the early 90s, but I opted instead to write a new song as a tribute instead, using the ideas I gained as a player from that album.  In Tafolla style, almost every section of the song contains open-string motifs.

5. NOT THE DAY, NOR THE HOUR

It took something as simple as a new sequence I was practicing with a minor 9^th arpeggio to get this song rolling.  I love it when a new idea goes into a song right away.  There are some alternating time signatures (sometimes from bar to bar) somewhat like I did on tracks like “Axiom” and “Tales…” from my first album.  I like the unusual feel that creates.

6. WISDOM RD

I wrote this song a very long time ago, but it came to mind recently and I thought it would be nice to have some acoustic on the album.  It takes me back to the time I wrote it, and makes me think about everything I’ve learned since then.  I hope it takes you back to some interesting time in your life when you listen.

7. HAMMERS HEART

This Kee Marcello tune is very special to me because it was perhaps my first exposure to a guitar instrumental.  Covering it came with a little trepidation, so I hope Kee likes it.  I’m happy with the performance and in ways possibly only detected by me; I feel it made me a better player.  It’s the kind of song where every performance is unique and really exposes the guitar to the listener.

8. FEEDING THE MYTH*

When that negative voice inside you tries to throw you off your game, it will do anything in its power to prove to you to that “you can’t do it”, “you won’t succeed” etc.  It’s Feeding The Myth.  I’m a firm believer in believing firmly, but we all have that inner struggle at times and that’s what I tried to get across in this song.  Thanks to Rick and Gordon for their awesome performances!

9. IN AND OUT OF DREAMS (AXIS PT2)

The intro came to me in 1995, and sat on an “ideas tape” until now.  It was an absolute pleasure for me to have perhaps my first ever guitar hero, Brett Garsed, appear on the track!  Brett’s one the finest players ever to put fingers to strings, and a total pioneer of this style I and many others play.  I also called upon my old mate Lord Tim to supply the outro solo.  Tim is one of my favorite musicians and creative minds.  Thanks to you both for gracing this track!

10. VELVET CLAWS

I was poking fun at someone when I began writing this song, as a kind of musical revenge for something, but the more I added to it – the country licks, the rocking solo, the breakdown, bass solo etc… the more it felt like a Chris Brooks song, albeit a cheeky one.  It’s a really fun one to play live.  The music video I did for VC has (at the time of writing) been viewed on Youtube over 33,000 times… probably the closest I’ll get to a hit single! Rock on!




www.chrisbrooks.com