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Yngwie Malmsteen Covers Guitar Classic Ahead Of New Album

 

Yngwie Malmsteen tackles “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” on his imminent new album “Blue Lightning” slated for March 29th release…

 

 

Yngwie Malmsteen will release his new album “Blue Lightning” on March 29th via Mascot Records/Mascot Label Group.

To call Yngwie Malmsteen a ‘maestro’ or ‘virtuoso’ is to perhaps state the obvious, but such terms are accurate across a four-decade career.

He has influenced countless other guitarists since he first came to attention in Los Angeles with Steeler’s self-titled album in 1983, followed by Alcatrazz’s “No Parole From Rock ‘N’ Roll” the same year and then “Live Sentence” a year later.

But it has been what he’s done since, in a distinguished and far-ranging career as a solo performer and band leader, that has shone the spotlight on to Malmsteen’s craft and worth as one of the most gifted rock guitarists on the planet.

Combining skills that span a vast spectrum of inspirations, he melds melody, technique and an epic scope in a unique and inclusive fashion.

Speaking about the choice to cover the classic Beatles’ track, Malmsteen says: “There were songs that were immediately clear I wanted to do…But then I also went for something like ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’, which I wasn’t sure I could do.

“In this case, it was about trial and error. I am delighted that I was able to do justice to the original.” But he was never going to carbon copy the original. “I have never been one of those people who wants to sit down and mimic the way in which a song sounds on record.

“I don’t see the point in doing that. If all you want to hear is a song the way you remember it, then the originals are there for you. What I have done is add in my own vibe and personality, while paying tribute to what you already know. That way I feel I am being myself, yet also being respectful to those artists.”

Aside from the covers, there are also four original tracks included on the new record. Bringing to the fore Malmsteen’s constant love for the Blues, as well as interpretations possessed of emotion and depth. “I have always featured songs with a blues groove on albums. So, having my own material in this vein was very natural for me.”

The album is self-produced, and Malmsteen has followed a traditional manner in the way it was recorded.  “In the old days, a band would go into the studio, do a couple of songs, then go out on tour, before returning to the studio to do a couple more new tracks. That’s the way I did things this time.

“I have been so busy on the road in recent times,that it was the most pragmatic way to do the album. In all, it took me about ten months to get it done, but by going in the studio in between touring commitments, I feel it kept everything fresh.”

 

 

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