Comments about the tracks on the "Electric Storm" CD by neoclassical instrumental rock guitarist Sean Mercer

Elation

You can't fail to get swept up in this one. I tried to capture the unmistakable uplifting feeling in the title.

The Festival

This piece started off with the main intro riff in E minor and developed from there. I was pleased with the way the acoustic guitar lines blended into this piece. I know I'm going to do this more often on the next album. Listen for some especially tasteful bass parts from Johan– we recorded his Steinberger direct to tape with minimal EQ.

Juicy Lucy

The keyboardist at the time didn’t care much for this piece – I think he felt it sounded too upbeat. He started to refer to it as “Juicy Lucy” (ironically, a quality local sandwich shop) and it stuck. I get a lot of questions about this title, but it's all very mundane really. There are some nice chromatic lines in the solo and sweep picking galore.

Shades of Blue

This piece has a bluesy feel, hence the title. I particularly enjoy the keyboard solo.

Reflections

A catchy riff, memorable melody and some hectic solo parts; what more can one ask for?

Ilana

A beautiful and majestic melody that had to be named for my wife, for obvious reasons. I like the key change to D minor with the acoustic guitar and cello parts before the keyboard solo. So does she.

Electric Storm

The main melody for this one I composed while sitting in my car waiting on a friend. I jotted down the rhythm and melody on a scrap of paper and when I got home to my guitar the piece came together pretty effortlessly. It's one of my favorite tracks and the solo is a bit of a technical workout.

Celtic Belt

This was the first instrumental composition I completed and actually kept! The name hints at the piece's Irish pedigree and my own same heritage. The Jethro Tull influence is palpable. There is a triplet feel throughout except for the solo where we changed to a sixteenth note feel.

Last Time

Drums were left off here; I was attempting something a little more laid back. The electric guitar solo is double tracked. It took me about two hours to capture those two electric tracks, with harmonized bends, to tape.

Holding Back

The drum groove that Neil came up with for this track really sets it apart from the other triplet rhythm melodies on the album. "Beautiful" describes the melody here: it's seamless, yet wonderfully nuanced, which sharpens the emotional quality. Holding back is really only half the equation here.

Mushrooms of Fire

This A-minor workout is explosive all the way. The solo is hectic and I got to play with the Floyd Rose a bit. I like the way Steve’s keyboard melodies compliment the guitar lines. I really enjoy the intro riff in this piece.

Opus 2

No prizes for guessing how this one was named! Must be the engineer in me. I love the harmonies on the triplet E minor sections. The half-time solo is one of my favorites on the album.

The instrumental CD "Electric Storm" by Sean Mercer was  mastered by Grammy winning mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen at The Mastering Lab during August \ September 2002.

The "Electric Storm" CD has been professionally manufactured using, real-time (1x), direct-to-glass mastering (also known as "single speed glass cutting")  - this is not a cheap CD-R.