Search - Ty Tabor :: Rock Garden

Cause he's a guitar man

Brent E. Johnson | Naches, WA | 09/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love older King's X and was excited Ogre Tones returned to some of that sound. Gretchen is, to me their best album still. I really didn't like Moonflower lane and it's experimentation. I love Ty's work with the Jelly Jam and highly recommend those albums. Safety had to grow on me and I have to be in the mood for that slice of melancholy. Why do I say all this? Cause Ty finally let's loose on a solo album that I will always be in the mood for.

With Ty there are no wasted notes. He strikes me as a serious minded guitar slinger and focus on tone and melody seem very important to him. This albums has sounds that will take you from the Beatles to 70's guitar rock to modern sounds that technology has enabled guitar players to tap into. Let's say he is an almost perfect blend of melodic crunch. Unlike a Satriani or Eric Johnson he mostly leaves the flash to others and let's the guitar speak strongly without screaming. I guess the word would be subtlety.

I highly recommend this if you love guitar based music of all kinds. It's a rock album but one that has panache."

Solid Rock from The Garden

The Old Rocker | SF Bay Area | 08/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've played through this CD several times over the last few days and I'm happy to say this is just a great, solid effort from Ty Tabor. He's spun around 180 degrees from the Safety CD to deliver an energetic album of (mostly) upbeat rock. And I really liked Safety.



While Safety was an intensely emotional and personal album, this is Ty having fun. While technically dead-on as ever, there's a looseness about this album that indicates Ty has put his demons (and ex-wife) behind him and is just having fun.



Lyrically this is more optimistic than anything he's done in a while, although there are some somber songs. It wouldn't be Ty Tabor if he didn't question and second guess everything he does! But the music is the real uplifting factor here; everything is perfectly arranged and played with some of the best soloing he has done in years. And I've never been much into opinion that he (and King's X) can be "Beatle-esque" but I have to say that on songs like Beautiful Sky and She's A Tree he does seem to tap into some White Album-John Lennon groove to deliver some almost ethereal sounds.



Bottom line, this guy never ceases to amaze me. If you've liked anything this guy has ever done, you need to get this CD.

"

Another great release from this guitar guru

Torman Grant | Utah, USA | 08/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is much heavier and more rocking than the 2 previous releases. I guess that's why Ty called it Rock Garden. It's a nice contrast to Safety, which was more focused on melody and even bordered on folk music at times. Don't get me wrong, Rock Garden is definitely not short on melody, but the crunching guitars and blazing solos definitely showcase Ty's rock and roll side and are a testament to his diversity. Simply stated, it's a much edgier album than his other two solo efforts. Rock Garden is a personal album, but not overtly so. For the most part Ty writes in the first person, but the themes are universal. Despite dark overtones, the underlying theme is one of guarded optimism. I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys thoughtful lyrics set to thunderous guitars."