Ron Jarzombek - Solitarily Speaking Of Theoretical Confinement

Rleased 2002 on Mr Kitty Records.

Ron Jarzombek - Guitars, Bass, Programming
Roland Emessy 1 - Strings, Synth
Prodeus Effecks - various other instrumental appearances and synth effects

Total Time - 45:22

45 songs in just over 45 minutes of playtime? And it's not grindcore, you say? Well, it must be something pretty bloody interesting.

You're goddamn right it is. For 45 songs, track-by-track can take a running jump; in any case, Solitarily Speaking...doesn't lend itself to track-by-track analysis.

This album is an immense musical undertaking, and the title is as good a place to start as any. Looking at it, and especially if you know Ron Jarzombek primarily as the erratic genius behind Spastic Ink, you'll probably think that he's using such a complicated title to be pretentious. In part, he is, but the title also literally sets out the concept of the album - it's a solo album, and almost every song has some restraint (a "theoretical confinement") placed upon it. Think of Spastic Ink's first album, Ink Complete; they had a couple of songs with some restraints placed upon - See, and it's Sharp!, for example, used only C and C# notes (and 4/4 time sig throughout - they wanted to set limits), and Eighths is Enough used themes consisting only of eighth notes. Compared to this album, however, these confinements are small and petty.

Every song on the album has a theme, in terms of what aspects of guitar skill are being used (since Ron Jarzombek manages almost all of the instruments on this album, it's pretty much wholly about the guitar), and a concept of some kind, however small. The booklet explains every song's story, in a similar way to Ink Complete. The titles of the songs look throwaway, as if he's simply grasping at any title he can think of, but, on the contrary, each relates pretty much directly to how the song was created. Some are fairly simple, while others go so far as to use a system he designed whilst in Watchtower (his previous band) whereby each letter of the alphabet is assigned to the guitar, and so melodies are created by spelling out words.

So, what do we have so far? A guitar virtuoso, playing incredibly technical music, with confinements, and a small concept behind each song. So why should you buy this album, instead of a better known virtuoso album such as Black Utopia, or something by Satch, or Malmsteen? Well, two reasons. Firstly, Jarzombek's humour; his playing is not soulless, it's infused with his eccentricity and humour, something especially evident in the notes inside the sleeves, which literally made me laugh out loud when I read them whilst listening to the album. I think this sets him somewhat apart from many other virtuosic guitarists (Vai being the obvious exception). Special mention here goes to track 19, Sex With Squeakie, which details another episode in the life of Squeakie, the squirrel who first made an appearance on Ink Complete, in A Morning With Squeakie.

The second reason is the really amazing thing about this album - it is one song. Ron Jarzombek has, incredibly, succeeded in producing a set of incredibly complex tracks which flow together perfectly, for 45 minutes. You can listen to the whole album in one go, and hear it as one track; you can listen to any one track at a time, and enjoy it as a track, and you can start the album playing on (almost) any track, and let it run through to any other track, and listen to that as if it were one song. It's astonishing, and this is what makes it a truly immense musical achievement, for which it deserves respect.

I can't help but give this album a 5/5 - it overwhelms me with the enormity of it's complexity, and sounds great as well. Recommended for anyone, really, as one of the biggest, in terms of concept, and interesting albums I've ever heard, but especially fans of Spastic Ink (especially on Ink Complete) and guitar virtuosity.