German guitarist Uli Jon Roth....

After years of hopelessly drifting in the musical equivalent of the deep-space Phantom Zone, virtuoso German guitarist Uli Jon Roth -- who, along with countryman Michael Schenker virtually wrote the text for Teutonic guitar heroes of the 1970's during his spell with the Scorpions -- finally stumbled upon a new creative framework with which to express his still quite daunting, but until now, often mislaid talents. Doing away with the psychedelic Hendrix-worship which had branded him both a pale imitation and dated anachronism throughout the 80's and 90's, Roth rediscovered his surest footing via the Transcendental Sky Guitar concept, which uniquely married his expertise on a self-designed instrument dubbed the "sky guitar" with backing orchestral ensembles. Surprisingly, this format has allowed him to both compose anew and revisit old creations from his oeuvre -- not to mention reinterpret classical music standards with mostly stellar results. Come time for 2004's Metamorphosis, the third volume of the Transcendental Sky Guitar series, Roth and the current, 15-strong, version of the Sky Orchestra (notably filled with female musicians as talented as they are stunning) have chosen to take a stab at Antonio Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. And, except for the odd whispered recitation and ancillary sound effects (wind, rain, thunder, etc.), the first half of Metamorphosis consists of a pretty straightforward reading of Vivaldi's masterwork, with Roth's preternatural guitar playing almost always acting the lead voice. The results are both inspired and inspiring, although one isn't entirely convinced that the concert was truly performed live, and is also forced to accept the hippie-fied subtitles concocted for each movement by Roth (ever the suppressed flower child) with a pinch of salt. And for those who find this program's first half far too formal and regimented in nature, there's the eleven-part second half (the actual Metamorphosis suite) where Uli leads the Sky Orchestra through a series of looser, more improvisational, and often blistering displays of technical mastery, both based on, and independent of Vivaldi's original, four concerti. This portion of the program also serves to highlight the bluesier, even psychedelic aspects of his technique, which, thanks to the most tenuous of thematic restrictions, manage to keep his more dubious tendencies in check. All in all, Metamorphosis restates the core philosophy behind the Transcendental Sky Guitar project and therefore qualifies as yet another worthy addition to the collection of any Uli Jon Roth loyalist, or guitar hero fans, for that matter.

Visit his website HERE.