Neal Nagaoka – The Second Coming

Albums which have a guitar on the sleeve tend to scare me. Too often, these are albums from guitarists trying to show off their prowess through speed and technique, while showing little to no originality or creativity.

But this is not the case.

Neal Nagaoka can certainly play and he plays extremely well. His solos are heartfelt and deeply emotional. Most importantly, they don’t hide the beauty of the rest of the music. This guy understands the instrument: not once is the soloing guitar too much.

I was hooked from the first listen, right from the first notes of the opening (and title) track, The Second Coming. Throughout, the album never lets you down. It always takes you further along on its trip, sometime dark, other times lighter. From progressive rock through jazz, and often in the middle of both, Nagaoka shows both versatility and an ability to take the listener where he wants the listener to be.

I must admit a fondness for the incredibly lovely Bedtime Story, which reminds me of Aldo Nova’s fabulous Nova’s Dream. One must also note Nagaoka’s great interpretation of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee.

Kudos to Neal Nagaoka for putting together this great album and I’m certainly looking forward to his next effort.