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Daryl Stuermer: Go!

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: InsideOut Music
Released: 2007.04.23
Time:
 47:42
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): Daryl Stuermer
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.darylstuermer.com
Appears with: Genesis, Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Mike Rutherford, Jean-Luc Ponty
Purchase date: 2007.10.25
Price in €: 19,99



 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Striker (D.Stuermer) - 4:52
[2] Masala Mantra (D.Stuermer) - 4:10
[3] Greenlight (D.Stuermer) - 3:59
[4] Dream in Blue (D.Stuermer) - 5:42
[5] Breaking Point (D.Stuermer) - 4:25
[6] Urbanista (D.Stuermer) - 6:34
[7] Heavy Heart (D.Stuermer) - 5:19
[8] Meltdown (D.Stuermer) - 4:34
[9] The Archer (D.Stuermer) - 4:24
[10] Omnibus (D.Stuermer) - 3:38

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Daryl Stuermer - Guitar, Arranger, Keyboards, Producer, Engineer, Mixing, Percussion Programming

Konstantin Efimov (aka. Kostia) - Keyboards
Eric Hervey - Bass on [6] and [8]-[10]
Leland Sklar - Bass on [1]-[5] and [7], Liner Notes
John Calarco - Drums

Michaela Carey Stuermer - Executive Producer
Mike Zirkel - Engineer for Drums
Gary Tanin - Associate Producer, Mastering
Marijeanne Gorectke - Executive Assistant
Robert W. Fritsch - Photography
Gene Steinman - Photography
Chris Adler - Photography
Ulrich Klempt - Photography
Catherine Calder-Becker - Photography for Godin Guitar
Thomas Ewerhard - Design
 

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s

2007 CD SPV 79162
2007 CD Inside Out Music 79162

Ready, steady, Go! From the first track, Striker, to the eastern influenced Masala Mantra, the compositions on Go, the new record from Daryl Stuermer, are a shift in musical direction. Stuermer is well-known for his work with fusion violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and as tour guitarist of Genesis, as well as an essential part of Phil Collins' band since 1982. On Go he has brought elements from his progressive rock past into the present. Stuermer's latest recording as a solo artist combines aspects of his own musical past, from the aggressive abandon that marked his fiery fret board work in the '70s with Ponty to the more accessible, melodic writing that defined Phil Collins' pop hits through the '80s and '90s. The record is Rock-Fusion (heavy on the Rock) and will thrill old fans and hasten the creation of new ones.



Since 1980, Daryl Stuermer has been regarded as an integral part of Genesis’ live shows. This exceptional musician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin has played guitar and bass for the supergroup since the ‘And Then There Were Three’ tour. He also later performed alongside Phil Collins both in the studio and on stage. Stuermer has co-written with Collins (‘Something Happened On The Way To Heaven’), and has contributed to the solo output both Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford. After the ‘Invisible Touch’ tour in 1987, Stuermer recorded his first solo album ‘Steppin’ Out’. Since then he has released his own albums on a regular basis .

‘Go’ is his ninth release to date. While in the past Stuermer has explored contemporary jazz and combined ‘lighter’ pieces with mid-tempo rock which has been dominated by classical guitar, “Go” sees him completely dedicated to a rockier electric guitar sound. The songs are still very melodic but are more riff oriented and offer an edgy ‘live’ sound this time out. “I always let my current feelings slip into my compositions”, explains Stuermer. “On each album I have a certain point-of-view and I carry with it particular sounds and a specific mood. On ‘Go’ I let things ‘roll’ a little bit more than in the past, as I wanted to reach new shores. There are similar approaches on my earlier releases too, but never so much as with this one. My motto is, ‘On your marks, get set, go!’ and then with full power out of the speakers! There are only two ballads on ‘Go’ but even they are seething with an underlying energy”.

Stuermer’s words sum up the music extremely well. If we were to elaborate further, one can say that listeners could expect virtuoso instrumental guitar music that has elements of Al Di Meola and Allan Holdsworth. The album has a fun vibe to it with plenty of striking hook lines, energetic riffs, catchy melodies and fluid guitar solos. Sometimes it leans more towards jazz (‘Striker’) and other times there are stronger elements of prog (‘Urbanista’), and Stuermer is also quite proud to showcase the influences he has gained from his time with Collins & Co. such as on ‘Heavy Heart’, a track with a melancholy feel that also recalls Dire Straits.

There is also a multi-cultural element to be found on ‘Go’ with Caribbean rhythms or melodies from the Far East as evidenced on ‘Masala Mantra’. “Masala is the name given to various spice mixtures that are used to make Indian curries. I have always liked Far Eastern music – not to mention Indian cuisine, especially Chicken Tikka Masala”, he continues while explaining the ethnic touches in his music picked up from his numerous journeys around the world.

Stuermer is once again ably supported by his long-time and highly skilled collaborators John Calarco (dr), Eric Hervey (b) and the Petersburg Kostia (b) as well as Leland Sklar with whom he worked in Phil Collins’ band.

Copyright © 2002-2008 AbstractLogix



Long Long Way To Go…

Daryl Stuermer releases new solo album, his first with an international record company

Go. A simple title. And very much to the point. Daryl Stuermer, tour guitarist with Genesis and Phil Collins, has been releasing solo records since 1988, amongst them an album called Another Side Of Genesis containing instrumental versions of Genesis songs (read the review here). But while he played almost all over the world with Genesis and Phil Collins, his solo activities remained restricted to Wisconsin in the United States. Daryl lives in Milwaukee and he lives for the music. Genesis will always be his biggest job, though he has also worked with big names such as Jean-Luc Ponty. Now he does it all solo….

Go is a purely instrumental album. It does not take a rocket scientist to predict an enormous density of fast guitar solos. Daryl recorded the album without a singer, because, as he told us in the interview, such a record would have to be a collaboration as he himself is not a singer. Go is pure Stuermer.

Though the album had already been finished last autumn [2006], negotiations with InsideOut Music, who will publish the album on either side of the Atlantic, and strategic considerations were the reasons that the album is released only now, in April 2007. The album will go on sale in Germany on April 20 and three days later in the rest of Europe. Release in North America is on April 24. There will not be much time for promotion as Daryl will begin to rehearse with Genesis at the end of April and then go on tour with them. Only in October may he find the time to play concerts with his own band and promote Go. But it may well turn out that the publicity a Genesis tour generates for his own person, too, is actually not too bad for Go. There is another familiar name on the album, too. Leland Sklar, currently with Toto and bass player on many of Phil Collins’ tours, plays on six songs of the album. Another musician involved is Kostia, a Milwaukee keyboarder originally from St. Petersburg, Russia, with whom Daryl recorded an album of Billy Joel cover versions in the 90s. Where Leland does not play the bass, Eric Hervey takes over while John Calarco plays the drums. Except for Leland, all the musicians come from Milwaukee.

Go consists of ten songs ranging from three and a half to six and a half minute’s length. Seven of the songs were written specifically for this album. The other three are from unreleased tracks from 1974 and 1980 brushed up for the record.

The very first notes of Striker clearly show where this album is headed. Daryl sound more down to earth than on previous albums. He also plays far more riffs. Rock sounds are garnished with typical Stuermer solos usually played very fast on the album so that Go soon picks up speed. This style of playing the guitar solos produced energy, says Daryl, energy he kept up throughout the album. The keyboard sounds in the album are very conspicuous, particularly so on Greenlight and Dream In Blue. These songs resemble Toto’s from, say, the 7th One album from the late 80s. Daryl’s soft spot for keyboard sounds from the 80s becomes evident on most songs.
Masala Mantra is an exotic piece building on rhythms and melodies from the Far East. Heavy Heart is a very balladesque piece. Daryl told us in the interview that Phil Collins may perhaps write some lyrics for this piece. Heavy Heart has neither lyrics nor a singer on Go and leaves one wishing it had. A vocal version of it would have been nice, though Daryl plays his guitar as on the Another Side Of Genesis album, in a very melodic way that imitates a singer, as it were. Go shows how much fun a technically brilliant guitarist had playing these pieces. Some of the pieces should have been developed into real songs with a singer. Heavy Heart in particular shows Daryl’s enormous potential as a songwriter. As it is, Go is a solid effort, a technically excellent record by an exceptional guitarist. Musicians will enjoy Go most, all others may find it more difficult, though not impossible, to get into the album. It would be a welcome change to hear some of Daryl’s solo material live. Perhaps the opportunity will come after the Genesis tour. But that’s still a long long way to Go …

Christian Gerhardts (Translation: Martin Klinkhardt) - www.genesis-news.com
 

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