Fusion jazz artist Rico Garcia has just released his debut record, The Beginning, and I can honestly say with confidence that it could potentially be the end.
Garcia’s debut record starts out with ridiculously laden, generically over-processed guitar and synth sounds that present proficient technical ability while completely ignoring the notion of musical aesthetic. The exciting, organic drumbeats are actually very thick and tolerable, but the instrumentation ruins everything. It just seems like there’s too much going on in The Beginning, and it’s not even interesting.
Another thing that bugs me about this record is the outrageously predictable lead guitar. Basically, the entire record is full of some guy playing ‘licks’ that he must have learned from some “How to play guitar like Carlos Santana” video. Give me a break. It’s very obvious that this record lacks authenticity because everything on it is a rip off of another bad record.
If I had to compare Garcia to other artists, I’d have to say that he’s a cross between Santana and your basic Frontier Restaurant dining music. I can certainly applaud Garcia for being an adept musician, but where’s the passion? Where’s the intent? Technique, schmeknique.
It’s disappointing to hear a record like this because we entered a computer age full of exciting, innovative opportunity. Garcia needs to explore contemporary vehicles for musical production while simultaneously integrating interesting, authentic compositional instrumentation. His musical palette is obviously limited, so he needs all the help he can get.
If you still aren’t convinced that The Beginning is a nightmare to listen to, you can get yourself a copy for free. All you have to do is go to www.fightcloud.com and sign up for your free copy, which is available for a limited time only.
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