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GUITAR PART
(GAFF MUSIC)
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Mad pop-guitar hooliganism, from the opening stinger of an instrumental — a half-surf, half–Bo Diddley ditty called "Cobra" — to covers of "Just like Tom Thumb’s Blues," "Won’t You Please Crawl out Your Window," and "Cortez the Killer." Guitar Party may have been the ultimate six-stringers’ jam band, featuring the avant master and inveterate lover of West Coast roots guitar Henry Kaiser and rock-and-roll high-wire artist Glenn Phillips. Note the past tense. This disc was cut in 1990 and shelved till now. But there’s no dust on any of its tracks, even if "The Other Side of This Life" sounds like an outtake from Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow with Gary Lambert and Cary Sheldon subbing for Balin and Slick. Kaiser notated the track list for guitar fiends, mapping out who plays each artful, blazing solo. And there’s no shortage of them. Even the pretty, slow instrumental "Lenore" digs into the frets, offering two takes on the melody from Phillips, one from Kaiser, and a solo each. Kaiser’s first solo pays tribute to his late hero Jerry Garcia in tone and construction before exploding. And Phillips’s guitar sings and squalls through every measure he kicks to life. Also on the Grateful Dead front: Bob Weir delivers a spirited vocal on a truly schizoid version of Hendrix’s "If 6 Was 9," full of purring and preening guitar that acknowledges Jimi yet makes its own way for nearly 11 minutes. Don’t miss this Party!
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