UNITED GUITARS: Vol. 2 (ROCK): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

What future for rock? Asking the question is already answering it, at least in part. It has to be said that rock has become for several years now an increasingly marginal style in the mainstream media. But paradoxically, this marginalization has created chapels that still welcome large numbers of followers and bring all styles of rock and metal to life with passion. Festivals, specialized press, social networks, webzines (including Music Waves) have supplanted institutional media and have become the refuge of enthusiasts. Among them, of course, are fans of the guitar, the rock instrument par excellence. As editor-in-chief of Guitare Xtreme, Ludovic Elgraz knows this better than anyone. Under these conditions, his United Guitars project is almost an act of resistance. But above all, it is a real challenge that he has managed to meet with a lot of passion and hard work. Volume 1 was a great success, and the budget set for the participatory funding of Volume 2 was far exceeded. Guitar fans are always there, and so are guitarists, as this second volume from the United Guitars collective proves.

With 30 guitarists (14 of whom are new compared to Vol.1), 17 songs and more than 100 guitar solos, this United Guitars "Vol.2" is, like its predecessor, a declaration of love for the electric guitar and for those who play it, the real guitarists, those who are able to play with others and compose songs. Because, as on "Vol.1", this "Vol.2" contains no cover versions but only original songs composed for the occasion, the great novelty being that some songs have been composed with several people. It is besides another successful bet of this new album: to gather guitarists with very different styles to create songs that surprise by their fluidity. This is the case of the amazing 'Shining Superstar', composed by Yvan Guillevic, Michael Benjelloun and Swan Vaude, or the excellent 'Gossip Girl', composed by Nina Attal and Yoann Kempst, one of the main revelations of the album.

This eclecticism is the real strength of this volume 2, which allows each musician to express himself in very different styles ranging from rock ('Masked And Furious' by Yarol Poupaud) to neoclassical ('Dead Inside' by NeoGeoFanatic) and metal ('Ennio' by Manu Livertout), blues rock ('Thick As Thieves' by Fabrice Dutour and Fred Chapellier), or jazz rock ('The Ride Of Wisdom' by Ludovic Egraz and Pat O'May). In this context, the newcomers immersed themselves in the collective like fish in water. Among them, we can mention the youtube player Florent Garcia who gratifies us with an excellent funk soul track ('Funky Enough') or François Tuphé and his beautiful 'So You're Gone'.

So of course, some will say that United Guitars is an album of guitarists for guitarists. And they'll be right because that's exactly the purpose of the project. But United Guitars is also much more than that. Because in addition to being a manifesto for the electric guitar, it shows that the French scene is full of talents who are just waiting to express themselves and tell stories with their instrument. So see you next year for volume 3. - Official website

UNITED GUITARS

VOL. 2

AUTRE LABEL

ROCK