TERRY MUNDAY - The Human Zone (Private Pressing)
You might recall me raving over Terry Munday's last album 'The Liberty Project' when it dropped onto my desk unannounced a few months ago. In no time at all we have the follow-up, and while the style and musicianship are every bit as good I think he will be hard pressed to come up with another track of the calibre of the title track of that album. The overall tone of this one is more subdued, and while there is still some great guitar-work on here the backing seems to be more at the more jazzy end of the spectrum. 'DELIVERANCE' has a pronounced samba beat to it, and the synth stabs of 'Long Walk Home' come straight from 'Liberty…'. Perhaps he was going for a more melodic style, but I much preferred it when he let rip on the axe. There are some fine tracks on here, with 'Twilight In The Modern World' having a particularly lyrical feel to it, helped along by some subtle piano at the beginning, and 'Behind The Veil Of Ignorance' heralds the return of the stinging guitar solo. 'Trans-Global City Life' is a funky piano-led tune, and the album closes with the gentle melodicism of 'Deep Blue Sea'. Once again this is a true solo effort, with Munday writing, performing, recording and producing the whole thing himself, and so the concept is comparable to similar efforts by Joe Satriani and Steve Vai, but while this is an admirable attempt I think he has a little way to go yet to emulate those guitar heroes. All praise to him for trying, and to find out more log on to his website at