Mike Campese
"Total Freedom"
(Independent Release) 

Mike Campese is a guitarist, and as far as I know, this is his first album. It is an all-instrumental, all guitar opus. No bass, drums, vocals, or any other instruments (aside from a few keyboards and sound effects here and there) anywhere on this album. It is completely a solo album because he is the only one playing on it, and he also produced it.  Mike uses quite a variety of musical styles in his work. The first few songs are all very mellow and folksy, even new age-y in some places, played mainly on acoustic guitar, although there are some electric passages in them. The songs are also quite short and run together. Hard to tell where one ends and another begins sometimes. On another song, "Jungle", Mike uses some African style music. This is followed by a bluesy number called "Last Train Out".  The next one, "Blizzard", actually sounds very influenced by Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris's style of playing! The next three tunes, "Indian War", "Space", and "Freedom", are very Yngwie in style. If bass and drums were added, these would be metal tunes. The next one, "Freedom", is an epic, extended guitar solo, which sounds influenced by Steve Vai or Eric Johnson. The album closes with another mellower number, "Jewels", which begins with what sounds like a wind up toy being wound up! Mike is a very good guitar player, he plays some very cool solos, and his playing is very versatile. He incorporates all kinds of different styles into his music, from folk to new age to blues to hard rock, even some African style music! It would be interesting to hear what he would sound like playing in a band, and with other musicians, now that he's shown what he can do on his own.

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