SESSIONS

Although Peter Matuchniak is known for his solo releases, as well as being in bands such as Mach One, Gekko Projekt, Bomber Goggles and many others, he is also an in-demand session guitarist. This album sees him revisit songs he originally recorded for five different musicians, Marco Ragni, Hamlet Tinae. Shawn Gordon, Steve Bonino, and Simon Strevens, and re-interpret them. This may mean the song has been rearranged, or it may be an earlier draft of what finally appeared on the album itself. Details are also provided as to who played on what track, as well as which albums the songs are taken from. Given his long relationship with Marco Ragni it is of no surprise that of the 21 songs on offer, 14 were originally on work undertaken for that artist: there is just 1 from Strevens, and 2 each from the others.

Given that the artists are very different in their approach, it is not surprising to discover many different styles at play during the course of the album, which is mostly instrumental with only a few containing vocals. Peter has an incredibly fluid style, and his leads are always in keeping with the music at hand, much more than providing a million notes to the bar. Although there are times when he shows he can be strident with staccato chords and breaks, his most common approach is to provide strong melodic counterparts which emphasise the music and song itself as opposed to "See how clever I am". The guitarist which has had most impact on Peter's playing is probably Steve Hackett but given how diverse that particularly musician is in his own playing that is a wide palette. Peter also has the innate melodic understanding and style of both Gilmour and Latimer, while his phrasing is also reminiscent of Gary Chandler at times.

Put it all together and here is a guitarist who adds to the music of whatever performer he is working with, not taking over but always becoming an essential part of the sound while rarely dominating. I must confess to having not previously heard all of the songs on offer but do have many of the albums from which they have been taken. Hearing the songs in this format has inspired me to dust off the likes of Psychic For Radio (Shawn Gordon)'s album from 2012, while I need to check out more of Marco's material and one can never hear too much Steve Bonino. This is a great introduction not only to the wonderful melodic guitarwork of Peter Matuchniak but also to the albums from whence they originally came. Incredibly diverse, always enjoyable, with Peter being the link between them all, this is a wonderful way to discover his music.

I've been a fan of Peter Matuchniak's music and guitar playing for a few years now ever since I heard his band Gekko Projekt. As well, I have in my collection his band Evolve IV and Bomber Goggles, his solo work, and albums of other artists he has worked with, including Hamlet of Transport Aerian, Steve Bonino, and Marco Ragni. Most recently, Peter also played on the latest studio release by Kinetic Element and their subsequent live album.

A couple of months back, Peter asked me if I would like to hear his newest release, "Sessions". Of course I would! Though I was curious what kind of an album this was. Session work? Bits from sessions that were left off albums?

Peter Matuchniak's "Sessions" album is nearly 80 minutes of music culled from sessions he did for not only the artists I mentioned above but also for a couple of others I haven't heard. Peter explains in the album's press release that when he recorded guitar work for other artists, he had his own impression of how the songs would be mixed. Though not disappointed in the final mixing, with which he had nothing to do, Peter was desirous of mixing the parts to which he contributed as he imagined they should sound. Fortunately, all the artists were very generous with letting him remix his parts and then compiling these remixed versions on a CD of his own.

So what we have here is what I would call a "Greatest Bits" album because the tracks are essentially short songs and parts of longer songs that featured Peter's guitar work. And what a collection it is! I was surprised how many parts I instantly recognized, having heard them already on the original albums. I quickly realized that these were often my favorite parts in the songs. I many cases, however, I hadn't particularly been aware of Peter's playing because some of these musicians are excellent guitarists in their own right. This did make me aware once again of what it is about Peter Matuchniak's playing sound and style that I enjoy so much.

Peter is a big fan of Steve Hackett and even has a tribute band that performs Steve Hackett covers live. I can't say that I myself am that familiar with Hackett's work outside of Genesis and thus can't draw any direct parallels between Steve and Peter. But I do like Peter's approach to his guitar work, and I think he shines on his work presented here. Sometimes it's quite subtle especially when there's a vocal part with lyrics that demand your attention. But a lot of it has always struck me as the best parts in the songs.

If you are not familiar with Peter Matuchniak's music, this album here does serve as a nice introduction to what he does. I would like to recommend having the original albums so that you can enjoy Peter's guitar in the context of the whole song. But if that's unfeasible or you are just a really big fan of his work, then this album has a lot to offer.