Sunday morning music

 

Sometimes music, or a musician, comes along that defies classification.  It/they create(s) their own genre, their own oeuvre, and others can only look in from the outside.  There aren't many like that, but one such is undoubtedly Brian Patrick Carroll, better known as Buckethead.

I'm at a loss to describe his music in a nutshell.  There are elements of so many genres in it that it almost makes its own genre as a blended form.  I have no doubt that he's a genius on the guitar, and ranks right up there with the top performers of the past half-century or so;  in earlier times, he might have been a top jazz musician or classical guitarist.  (As a matter of fact, I'd love to hear him try some of the baroque guitar music we've featured in these pages on previous occasions!)  However, he's almost always gone his own way, working from time to time with other groups, but always gravitating back to his own way of doing things (sometimes to the ire of other musicians who've tried to collaborate with him).

I particularly enjoy those of his quieter, more meditative pieces that I've heard, but I don't pretend to know all of them.  I'm not so much a fan of his harder rock pieces, but even those are innovative and evocative, forcing me to acknowledge that there's real genius at work.  If you like what you hear, you should look online for deeper insights into his work - I'm just scratching the surface here.

For those who don't know Buckethead's music, I've chosen four pieces, starting more quietly, then building towards harder rock.  First, here's "The Light In The Fog" from the album "Polar Trench".

Next, here's "Padmasana" from the album "Electric Tears".

Moving more rock-ward (if I can put it like that), here's "Soothsayer" from the album "Crime Slunk Scene".

Finally, from his brand-new (February 2021) album "Electrum", the title piece.

A remarkable musician by anyone's standards, I think.

Peter