There are numerous problems in writing a concerto for certain instruments, namely, the quieter the instrument, the harder it is to balance with a full orchestra. Some simply don't project their sound well and the acoustic guitar is possibly one of the trickiest. However, since an electric guitar is inherently amplified, you can simply pile up the speakers and use an amp that goes all the way up to 11. There are some instruments that are somewhat typecast and I think it would be fair to say that anything "modern" - saxophones, electric guitars, drum kits etc. - tend to have stronger associations with certain genres and the electric guitar, in particular, doesn't really appear outside pop/rock groups and the only time it appears with an orchestra is if the song has one in the arrangement. Instrumentals with guitars are notoriously difficult to avoid sounding incredibly cheesy and so it's to Michael Kamen's credit that his concerto for the instruments balances its inherent rock qualities with the symphonic sound.

The concept for an electric guitar concerto was planted by Eric Clapton during the scoring of Edge of Darkness, which he co-wrote with Kamen (plus the Lethal Weapon films) and this album is the result. It seems that Clapton wasn't available to perform for the album and so Tomoyasu Hotei appears as soloist. Not a name I recognise, but his playing is technically impressive and artistically sound. I don't honestly know how much artistic scope there is when playing the electric guitar, but it's probably more than I realise. Either way, he surmounts Kamen's considerable technical challenges. The inspiringly titled First Movement is a monumental and sprawling way to begin, with a broad and epic tune which works well handled by both the soloist and orchestra. The slow Second Movement is more brooding and introspective, the artistic merits of the soloist most evident, certainly moreso than in the show stopping finale. The Third Movement gets closer to a more traditional rock instrumental style with drum kit added to the orchestra to provide a consistent backing. The technical bravura of the solo part is very evident and those that decry Kamen for writing unmemorable melodies should eat their words as it's memorable from its opening bars.

To fill out the album a cue from Edge of Darkness is included. In fairness, compared to the concerto, it's not an especially inspiring piece, nor nearly as memorable. The disc ends with the Third Movement of the concerto without the soloist part - from this version it's clear that there's actually a second electric guitar part running alongside - which is quite interesting to note how the soloist fits in with the orchestra. Some passages are clearly missing something, although many work just as well without the soloist. I've often said that one of my benchmarks for a good concerto is whether the piece would be any worse without the solo instrument, but it's clear that Kamen writes to make the guitar central and integral to the orchestration. To write a concerto for any instrument is impressive, but to write one that manages to transcend the solo instrument's origins so successfully is even more impressive. As an album, it feels just a touch mean in its selections and it's unfortunate that it wasn't simply coupled with Kamen's equally impressive saxophone concerto. The album is now depressingly hard to find, but one can only hope that Kamen persuades his label to re-release it sometime soon as it's worth checking out by fans of the composer and air guitar lovers everywhere

Rating ~

Guitar Concerto
1. First Movement (14:08)
2. Second Movement (9:20)
3. Third Movement (7:55)

4. Edge of Darkness - Nuclear Train (6:20)

5. Third Movement of Concerto minus guitar (7:55)

Total Time ~ 45:26