RIPE

After a very succesful debut under Scott McGill's Hand Farm from 1997, this excellent and yet unfairly unknown guitar player is offering a second album named Ripe issued in 1999. Between these two albums, he was recruted by prog fusion band Finneus Gauge (featuring members of the former and future Echolyn) releasing with this band two albums - More Once More' and 'One Inch Of The Fall' albums between 1997 to 1999. Back to his second solo album , here Scott is trying in some parts some experimental rock passages, melted together with his jazzy fusion unique guitar sound, the result is more then ok to me, but little less inspired then the debut. The music is energic, I can hear influences from Allan Holdsworth to King Crimson in places, pieces like Ripe On and few more a real delight, but as I said I found this Ripe album less excellent then the debut. Anyway , I can only recommend both albums released under Hand Farm name, while is little known in prog fusion circles, he influenced already lots of guitar hearoes from this scene. For me Ripe is a good one, desearves 3 stars, in places 3.5 . An unfairly underrated guitarist.