All-Reviews.com Music Review
In The Name Of Bach

I found it interesting how I picked this CD up today to give it a listen. I had just mentioned in a review a few days ago how I remembered that I read somewhere that a rock guitarist had said that rock and roll was nothing more then Bach and Beethoven played faster. Well here we have some more proof of that statement on this CD called "In The Name Of Bach." Alex Masi is the conductor of this spectacular tribute to the immortal classical music that has lived on forever in time since the day it was written. Masi plays keyboard and violin music on various guitars in a very convincing way. He makes a statement every time he picks up his guitar, not only for his obvious knowledge of his instrument, but for his outright reverence for classical music.

The most appealing aspect of this album is the variance of the guitar sound that Masi uses to describe each musical piece, he does it all with equal fastidiousness and complete control. He also continues to respect the music while adding his own touch of modern flare without giving into all of our recent technologies. If it’s a gentle and complicated arpeggio or an all out electrical attack on a composition, Masi manages to make each and every track a creative quest via the six-string. Some songs have masculine and feminine elements that will appeal to a huge cross section of listeners. The bottom line is that if you have any appreciation for good music you will most certainly admire what this incredible guitar player accomplishes on this CD. He is cat quick, gentle, soothing, and aggressive when he needs to be. It takes a certain amount of patience and expertise to understand what you can and cannot do with this music. Classical music is probably the most complex and most difficult to break down with a single instrument. Alex accomplishes all of that and more, and he does it with the verve and color of a true artisan in his element. Get ready to crank that stereo system… the only flaw on this recording is that the engineers forgot to turn up the control knobs for the master tape, other than that this CD rocks.

If you are like me and don’t have much of a clue about classical music, don’t worry about it, just sit back and enjoy some amazing guitar work interpreted through some of the greatest music ever made. Don’t let the complicated titles throw you off, its still only rock and roll.

1. Toccata And Fugue In D Minor Bwv 565
2. Prelude In G Minor from Well Tempered Clavier Bwv 870
3. Allemande From French Suite In D Minor Bwv 812
4. Toccata In E Minor Bwv 565
5. Presto From Violin Sonata #1 In G Minor Bwv 1001
6. Fugue In E Major From Well Tampered Clavier Bwv 893
7. Contrapunctus #9 Alla Duodecima From Art Of Fugue Bwv 1080
8. Sicillano In C Minor From Sonatas For Violin & Harpsichord Bwv 101
9. Courante From English Suite In A Minor Bwv 807
10. Invention F Major Bwv 779
11. Allemande From Violin Partita #2 In D Minor Bwv 1004
12. Courante In E Minor Bwv 996
13. Chromatic Fantasia Bwv 903
14. Fugue Bwv 903
15. Presto From Violin Sonata #1 In G Minor Bwv 1001 (Acoustic Version)