I wasn't sure what to expect, starting with Kevin Shirley's tepid response to Andrew's questions way back when. Was worried we'd get strong-armed Schon wankery. Am a huge fan, own two Schon guitars, early-Journey/Santana fan, so it's not like I don't love the guitar up front and center. But when seeing the NS Band last year, after awhile I just went and sat down. To much repetitive shred-noodling in one sitting.
But ECL1P53 delivers the goods. There's a ton of guitar, but it's in layers, creating a much more rich and interesting palette. I might go so far as to describe all the guitar, taken together, as tasteful? Lots of surprises, interesting harmonies, Arnel is his own man. The whole album seems like an updated, more mature Journey. A great follow up to Frontiers (though I also loved Arrival, US).
What really makes this disc is the way that it's tracked. I can see letting this spin in the player for hours, maybe days, without skipping a track. I don't know if many of the songs really stand alone as classics when taken individually. But taken together as a stream, ECL1P53 is just amazing.
I can tell this one is definitely a grower and I already love it. Maybe my favorite Journey album, we'll see how it stands up to my ears over time.
