Randall Ward release “Becoming”
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Posted On October 11, 2018
Randall Ward release “Becoming”
SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/user-362426958/sets/becoming/s-6yUFS
Fusing guitar virtuosity with intricately complicated jazz arrangements, Randall Ward – with the assistance of the brilliant Stuart Millsapps and Alex Espinosa – has constructed a sonic masterpiece in the new album Becoming, an eleven track foray into a melodic universe of boundless instrumental glory. I’ve reviewed close to a thousand different records in my career, and while a handful of them have truly impressed me, none have had the lasting impact that this LP has. This is an album for the ages, a record that guitar aficionados as well as jazz and rock enthusiasts of all ages are going to treasure for generations to come, and it comes to us overstuffed with compelling content from beginning to end. Whether you’re familiar with Randall Ward and his collaborators’ previous works is completely irrelevant; the expansively dynamic and intrepidly designed concept behind Becoming is alluring for even the most discriminating of audiophiles. I had the great privilege of previewing this record ahead of its Halloween 2018 release date, and to say that I could have ever expected to come in contact with what I ultimately heard would be the single greatest lie I could tell you as a music critic.
It’s hard to cherry pick Becoming for specific moments of greatness that overshadow the others, but for me personally I found “Pick It Up” to be the most evocative and radio-ready track on the album. “Pick It Up” is a song that was conceived with the revival of the traditional rock n’ roll model in mind, but it’s far from a retrospective look into the genre’s past (or those who contributed to it). Millsapps’ presence is greatly felt in this track, and the even keeled nature of the bassline keeps everything tightly wound, just enough as to ensure that the band doesn’t go completely off the rails and into the avant-garde oblivion. There are ambient influences to behold throughout Becoming but they never drift into self-indulgent territory, even when the solos last a little longer than we might expect them to. I don’t think that Randall Ward is the greediest guy in this industry, but there’s no question that this has the potential to be his most financially lucrative effort to date thanks to the slick pop production of the album’s most nimble material.
Becoming is the definitive guitar record of 2018, and unquestionably the year’s most cerebral and jarring collection of songs compiled onto a single disc. No matter what your personal taste in music is, there’s something for you to fall in love with in this album, which pushes the envelope consistently from track one all the way through to the finish line and leaves us wondering how Randall Ward has managed to remain as under the radar as he has in his storied career. I’d bet good money that Becoming is going to find itself on a lot of critics’ “Top 5” lists come January 1st, but what’s more is that I think fans of Ward’s music both new and old will be overwhelmingly pleased with what his most recent transmission brings to the table.
Mindy McCall
