Detailed Reviews [Roascio RCM - 2010 - "Todo en un Dia"]

Prolusion. The Argentinean guitarist Marcelo ROASCIO has been an active musician since the late 70's, participating in a number of bands since then as well as issuing various solo albums and collaborative efforts along the way, with the RCM project originally set up in the mid 90's. "Todo en Un Dia" is Roascio's most recent effort and was issued by the Argentinean label AVA Records.

Analysis. While most likely an unknown name to many, at least those not overly familiar with Argentinean rock, it seems that this guitarist is something of a legend back home. His biography cites him as an active music journalist and guitar teacher and inspiration as well as an initiator of local versions of Satriani's G3 concept – to quote a token few details from a lengthy bio section of his homepage. And it's easy to understand that he has earned a reputation too, as he comes across as a skilled performer. Those who love instrumental guitar-dominated albums should find this one to be right up their alley, generally speaking. Musically, I didn't find this production to be enthralling, however. The technical aspects are impressive, and the performance and production display arguably higher class than most albums I get the chance to listen to over the span of a year. But the compositions aren't quite up to the standards I prefer on a personal basis. If I should dispense keywords describing this disc as brief as possible, nice and pleasant would be my preferred choice. The style of choice for this excursion is one I think would best be described as instrumental, melodic hard rock. Steady bass and drums support Roascio's guitar soloing quite nicely, the latter by preference exploring distinctly harmonic and melodic territories by way of slick flowing scale movements, drawn-out notes and a gentle form of what I might describe as shredding, but mostly without the resonances that would interest listeners with a taste for metal music, that is. Soft, richly textured keyboard motifs make frequent appearances, smoothing out many of the rougher edges at hand, resulting in slick soundscapes that match the arrangements quite nicely. Blues-tinged soloing adds an additional flavor to the proceedings, and pretty often the bass guitar and the supporting rhythm guitars will provide motifs with distinct orientations towards jazz rock in expression. While the overall scope of this CD isn't one that will bring forth many superlatives from me, there are two instances of creations that manage to impress. Giran las Ruedas has a nifty and gentle staccato rhythm guitar motif, with a sound that made me think of the banjo or perhaps mandolin, which combines very nicely with a funky bass underscoring Roascio's melodic guitar soloing. And the title track is a brilliant piece of music, from the dark-toned, gently resonating guitar licks in the prelude to the following main theme sporting lazy jazz-tinged guitar leads and an additional dark-toned clean guitar texture with an initially dampened light guitar solo placed a bit back in the arrangements, followed by an altogether lighter toned guitar solo and keyboards-dominated insert, the latter instrument staying on as the song returns to the main motif, but now with a rougher, distorted guitar solo replacing the gentle melodic one at the start.

Conclusion. "Todo en un Dia" comes across as a well-made album that should cater for the needs of those looking for instrumental guitar albums that don't explore a distinct metal or metal inspired style. Performance and musicianship leave little to be desired, and for many fans of such endeavors this disc will probably be regarded as something of a treasured item. Dedicated progressive rock fans won't find too much of interest however, although some might want to investigate the cover of Ponty's New Country. Apart from that, this is a production that first and foremost warrants a check by enthusiasts and guitarists.

OMB=Olav M Bjornsen: May 13, 2011
The Rating Room