BUMBLEFOOT

Ronald Jay Blumenthal is one of the most inventive guitarists I know. He shortened his name to Ron Thal, and he also goes by Bumblefoot. The man is from NY and he is multi-talented. He almost does it all here on his 1995 debut. The cover art, the production, compositions, performance and drum programming. There is a guest adding timbales on "Ick", and some guest slap bass and narration on 'Bumblefoot". There is some keyboards offering horn-like sounds on 3 tracks, along with piano on "Blue Tongue".

But this really is about Ron's incredible performance on his guitars. No vocals other than grunts, groans and the odd shout out on the opener "Bumblefoot". The 12 song titles all represent an animal disease. And those 12 diseases are represented on the cover art by 12 different characters. This was recorded in Ron's basement on his digital 16-track from August to October 1994, except for three tracks which were recorded earlier. This clocks in at around 45 minutes, and I do have a top three to talk about.

I feel the album gets off on the wrong foot(haha) with "Bumblefoot". I mean it's a great song, but those silly shout outs of "Bumblefoot!" several times are annoying. Hey, he was a kid here. And Ron is about entertaining, and the man is funny. I just feel like this is the one track I'd skip if I did that. The rest is gravy. The top three include that second song "Orf" which would have been a great opener. It just sounds so much better, and keep in mind that "Bumblefoot" song was recorded earlier.

I find "Orf" so uplifting when Thal is soaring on that guitar. When it slows right down we get some complex guitar, and I love his tone here. Repeated themes, and I really like those guitar expressions around 3 1/2 minutes. "Strawberry Footrot" is another top three. Love the heavy sound, and again the guitar tone. Just a great guitar track really. Finally, "Rinderpest" rounds out my top three. The warmth! Deep sounds before the guitar arrives soaring. I really like this, then it reverts back to that opening theme.

I also want to mention the 1 1/2 minute "Mailgnant Carbuncle" for the amazing guitar show. Ron has so many ideas, but also the nerve to follow through on some of these insane musical thoughts. He truly thinks out side the box, or bucket if you will. A solid 4 stars for these adventerous tales of woe.

PS I had already reviewed Ron's second release "Hermit" back in 2016, and mentioned there that he had a real drummer on board, but not so on the debut. Well, I had forgotten all that. After a couple of spins I decided to look up who the drummer was. Haha, what drummer? Usually in a case like this, once I find out about the programmed drums, the next listen reveals that in spades. Not here. I swear it's a real drummer, even after reading this information. Again, the man is so talented, in so many ways.

I came across Bumblefoot aka Ron Thal long ago with his guitar frenzy, Zappa-esque release of The Adventures of Bumblefoot. My youngest daughter quickly "borrowed" the disc because of its comical side but I missed hearing it because of Thal's amazing guitar playing style. Not only does he play unique riffs that rival Vai and Satriani but he physically mutates his axes into bizarre and surreal things. I cannot really describe them except to say think, Dali, Bosch or Pee Wee's Playhouse.

"What the -- ??"

This release was to be titled Guitars SUCK but with the unforgivably insane madness of the terrorist attack on America by u-know-who on 9-11-01, Thal re-named the release to 9.11, marking the tragic event, and to raise money to help lessen the dire straits of the victims and their families. 100% of the profits from the sale of this release go to the American Red Cross.

If you are into pumping and hard-slamming axe with killer solos laced throughout you'll love this release. There are seven way-cool instrumentals showcasing Thal's magic-man fret stunts and a bevy of techniques. And there are five tunes with lyrics and yet again more crunch-worthy explosions of Thal's fingertips. This is not shred nor aimless noodling jams without soul. Thal bursts out of each track with exuberant guitar pyrotechnics that show form and function in just having fun playing.

Some moments of this CD are light-hearted and others rip out with angst. It's all here, the heaviness of Prong's Tommy Victor, some acoustic splendor, and mainly the riff-tech rock mirroring Vai yet this work remains uniquely Thal. Frank Zappa tips his fez to you Bumblefoot. Good stuff. High recommendations for Thal's noteworthy guitar and his obvious mastery.

It's well worth reading the bio here for BUMBLEFOOT or on the RYM site just to see the accomplishments of multi- instrumentalist Ron Thal the man behind this project. He is one special and talented human being I'll say that, and he's known as being a very innovative guitarist. And I didn't know how much influence he had on "Chinese Democracy" by GUNS AND ROSES, a band he would be a part of at that point in time. "Hermit" is Ron's second studio album from 1997 and he's got lots more help than he had on the debut and it certainly was a smart move on his part. His brother Jeff is on board here and he is an excellent drummer plus we get some cello and sax. The music is like a trip back to the nineties for me with that Grunge, Alternative style standing out more than anything else although there's lots of variety and plenty of humour.

"Zero" is the 2 minute opener with beautiful, melodic guitar and cello. Some faint spoken words after a minute and the cello is more prominent late. "Hermit" is catchy with drums, guitar, vocals and cello. It reminds me of 90's Alternative and the vocals seem mixed a little low for some reason but this is a great track. Nice guitar solo after 3 minutes then cello and classical-like guitar ends it. "Fatback" is a top four track for me. It's heavy with vocals and I really dig the vocals. "Freak" is my favourite song on here. Guitar and a heavy sound to start as these BEASTIE BOYS-like vocals shout the lyrics. Kicking ass! Head-banging time and check out the ripping guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. "Sweetmeat" is more stripped down with almost spoken vocals, drums and guitar. It's heavier a minute in as contrasts continue. An interesting guitar solo after 3 minutes as well. "I Can't Play The Blues" is humerous with fast paced almost spoken vocals like he's rapping almost. Some crazy guitar solos too and this is really catchy.

"Gray" has these experimental sounds that pulse before the drums and guitar take over with vocals not far behind really reminding me of NIRVANA. The vocals and sound turn more powerful as these contrasts continue. Check out the screaming guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. "Unsound" is another top four and it opens with strummed guitar as another guitar solos over top. Smooth multi-vocals join in after 1 1/2 minutes and it kicks in hard about a minute later as contrasts continue. "Goodbye" is my final top four. This is powerful as the vocals join in. What a guitar solo starting after 2 minutes. Killer! "Rowboat" is complex and fast paced as the vocals come in shouting but they settle down before a minute as it does instrumentally as well. Again contrasts continue. It's an okay song but extreme and all over the place at times. "Hangup" has a nasty guitar intro before turning jazzy, almost loungey after a minute. This is one crazy tune. "Every Time I Shake My Head(It's Like Christmas)" would make a great Christmas song to listen to every year. It's funny and quite jazzy with sappy vocals until it turns heavy around 2 minutes but it's back to the silliness late.

Easily 4 stars but a little too much like Grunge and a little too mainstream at times for my tastes. Too familiar I suppose but man this is entertaining.

After the release of the 2005 album "Normal," BUMBLEFOOT replaced Buckethead as the new guitarist in Guns N Roses 3.0 and catapulting him into the gaze of a much larger audience than his little known solo albums ever did. Since then he has only released one solo album, "Abnormal" in 2008 and then it seems he packed up his solo career and put it on the shelf with the exception of some digitally released cover singles in 2011 ranging from "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" from Elton John, "Strawberry Fields Forever" from The Beatles and even the "Pink Panther Theme." But these were just novelties, not real BUMBLEFOOT music.

As a fan of one of the most talented guitarists of modern times i was excited to hear that finally after 7 long years a new solo album would finally hit the market. Wow! Surely with 7 years of time to write and produce an album, it must surely be the best one of his career, right? Well, not exactly. If you are expecting any of the sheer genius guitar shredding and progressive fortitude polishing every track into a masterpiece put together in totally inventive ways, then go to the album 9-11 and before because this is no return to such heights like "Guitars Suck" or "Chopin Fantasie." In fact LITTLE BROTHER IS WATCHING basically continues where "Abnormal" left off with BUMBLEFOOT focusing more on catchy alternative rock tracks that wouldn't sound out of place placed next to Muse, Green Day or the Foo Fighters showcasing his vocal abilities and classic rock songwriting much more than his guitar wizardry, however some short and sweet solos do find their way into the mix but even these seem recycled.

What we basically have here is BUMBLEFOOT on automatic pilot. This album sounds very much like the previous two and not breaking any new ground. As always there is a propensity for extremely catchy melodies with witty lyrics still in play and his talents as a producer shine through as well, however this is a mixed bag songwise for me. There are some strong tracks such as the opener "Clots," the clever title track about the people, "LITTLE BROTHER," having taken control by keeping all eyes on the government, the circus music rocker "Cuterebra" and the theremin background alternating with a rowdy rocker "Women Rule The World." Some ok ones like the three movement "Argentina," "Don't Know Who To Pray To Anymore," tracks like "Higher" where he does his best Freddie Mercury, and some weak tracks like "Livin' The Dream," "Sleepwalking" and "Never Again."

Between his constant touring schedule with GNR and his new band Art Of Anarchy with former Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland diverting his creative juices, it is apparent that at this point in his career a solo album is a mere footnote on his resume and not his main passion as was the case in the past. Still though this has some very strong tracks, some good ones and only a few totally turkeys, but this is BUMBLEFOOT who had me spoiled for several albums in a row with musical genius. Nothing on this one even comes close to those days. If you like nice catchy alternative rock tracks that are radio friendly verging on art punk at times then you may like this but if you are looking for any hints of progressive guitar wizardry then sit this one out. LITTLE BROTHER MAY BE WATCHING but perhaps not listening because this is faaaaaar from his best.

Bumblefoot is one of the most skilled guitarists of all time. Some of his songs like Guitars Suck, Guitars Still Suck, I Can't Play The Blues or Real are amazing. 4 years after the good Abnormal, Bumblefoot come back with Little Brother Is Watching which is a concept album, I think. On this album, Bumblefoot stopped a little bit the weird and very fast guitar solos, and made more melodics songs, which is a good idea. The songs are epic, with great backing vocals, big drums and good riffs. The voice of Bumblefoot is better than before, he is a great singer now. From Clots to Higher, the songs are great. After, it's a little bit repetitive, but stills pleasant. The finale (Never Again) is pretty epic and some of the solos are really cool, like the one on Don't Know Who To Pray To Anymore. A good album but not essential so 3 stars. It's still one of the best efforts of Bumblefoot, just behind 9/11 and Hermit.

— First review of this album —

Officially titled BAREFOOT The Acoustic EP is basically BUMBLEFOOT showing us that he can be a stripped down singer / songwriter with only him and his guitar, however there are often two guitar tracks so this isn't a live rendition. This album consists of five songs from the Normal and Abnormal albums presented in a totally acoustic fashion. In addition we get seven extras in the form of acoustic instrumentals. Basically I can't say i'm really into this rendition of BUMBLEFOOT. Everything on here is performed extremely well as always but i'm not crazy about the song selections and underwhelmed by the monotony of just one acoustic guitar song after another. An ok album that warrants a listen for fans but this is the first release from this talented artist that I could truly live without and to be honest if I wanted to hear campfire songs i'd rather listen to John Denver.

ABNORMAL is the 8th studio album by Ron Thal aka BUMBLEFOOT and the first release as the guitarist for Guns N' Roses. This album is the next step and sequel to the previous album NORMAL and is a concept album about his personal experiences of being a gifted musician who had to learn to exist in a world where he didn't fit in. On the previous album the theme is about being drugged up to fit in with society which in the end makes one happy but makes one impotent regarding the individual gifts that make him a unique musical force.

On this album it's about coming clean and regaining those musical powers but once again feeling out of place and succumbing to the pressures of being different and misunderstood. Although the theme is more sophisticated than previous BUMBLEFOOT albums the music isn't. It retains the hard rock meets grunge sound of the previous album and fits it into some extremely well crafted songs. As usually BUMBLEFOOT exercises his melodic prowess and delivers some beautiful sonic beasts that focus less on his virtuosic playing abilities and more on an overall theme and sound. It could be summed up that this music is melodic and hook-filled with an experimental and punk-based veneer to the whole thing. That isn't to say though that there isn't some incredible blistering guitar playing on here, cuz there certainly is.

Although this album is fairly uniform in its quality there are a few tracks that merit a little extra attention. "Piranha" is just majestic beyond belief. It has a punk-based riffage and some extremely quirky virtuoso ska like things going on with interesting background vocals. One of my favorites. "Guitars Still Suck" which is a play on "Guitars Suck" from the 911 album couldn't sound more different from it. This one is more of a virtuoso jazz meets bluegrass type of thing before morphing into a blues rock number. It is simply amazing and must be heard to be believed. "Spaghetti" is a really cool soundtrack sounding number that hooks you like a Herb Alpert song and takes you for a wild ride. "Redeye" is another melodic punk rocker that is intriguing in its lyrical meaning. "The Day After" is an apocalyptic instrumental that is apparently meant to compliment the previous track "Redeye."

Not as good as the earlier releases but well worth having for its high quality quirkiness and energetic display of outstanding musicianship. Another great album out of many and mandatory for any BUMBLEFOOT fans who dig the eclectic parade of interesting releases.

Basically this release is the leftovers that didn't make it onto previous albums. As far as BUMBLEFOOT music goes the first four tracks are pretty weak but they represent the accurate history of his musical development. They were supposed to be on his 2nd album but were rejected as being too negative and thus became the undeveloped pieces that they sound like.

This album includes most of the tracks that were on the 2000 French version of UNCOOL and left off the 2002 international release. The sole exception is a song titled "We Don't Care" which never found a home on any international release. These songs include include "Mine," "Heart Attack," "Girl Like You," "Crunch," "She Knows," and "Maricona." Personally I would recommend getting the original French version of UNCOOL since it is a superior version to the 2002 version and the songs fit in their original scheme of things and not expensive to obtain.

Other decent tracks include: "Bagged A Big 1," "Meat," "She Knows," "Wasted Away" and "Mafalda." They are truly worthy of being on other albums but deemed unworthy for whatever reason. I think this has enough worthy material to merit a slot on your shelf if you dig Mr Foot's music. Although there are redundancies if you own all of the studio albums it's hardly a horrible thing to have a few duplicates of BUMBLEFOOT tunes. This is probably a hardcore fan type of package but even if you only heard this album alone you could fall for his unique brand of fusion in the musical world.

This is a concept album about taking you into the world of being insane and based on BUMBLEFOOT's life of being "gifted." It's about the plight of the bright who want to fit in with those who aren't. The story is about a musician who takes medication to dumb himself down so he can fit in with society, but the only problem is the medication makes his musical abilities impotent. At the end he has to decide what he wants and the whole point of the album is to ponder what normality is and how to deal with being different.

The only predictable attribute for any given BUMBLEFOOT album is that it won't sound like any other and the fusion-fest will take you to places you never dreamed but ultimately leaving you satisfied that you took the trip. On NORMAL it's no exception. On this release he takes a plunge into grunge once again and it sounds like perhaps The Foo Fighters may be the key inspiration for the template on this one. Don't let that put you off. Mr Foot takes you where the Foos wouldn't even consider. So consider this journey one of maybe the Foot Fighters. Musically this is probably his least progressive so far.

No need to do the track by track descriptions here. I have to say that BUMBLEFOOT starts to taper off on this release trying to keep a unified theme and all . All the songs are very well done and creative but what lacks is the knocking-your-socks-offism of the first five albums. So spoiled have I become with his music that I expect perfection and total originality 100% of the time. OK, it didn't happen here, but this is still a very good release. This is perhaps the "Wake Of The Poseidon" after many "In The Courts." Still worth having. Still worth hearing. Just inferior but still very good. Although I get the concept and the music corresponds to it accordingly this is just not as interesting to me as all the previous releases. Still this album still smokes.

Originally to be titled "Guitars Suck," Bumblefoot (a New Yorker) changed the title to 9.11 to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks and decided to donate all the profits to the American Red Cross proving that Mr Foot is a humanitarian as well as a bonafide talent in the world of music

This is his 5th release (if you count the French Uncool) and his 3rd as Bumblefoot. This is another solid album that I would call a masterpiece! One interesting thing about this release is that the wonderful track R2 is here which had already been released on Uncool (French version). For those of us who were fans at the time of release this may be a little redundant but since that version was not released internationally I guess it was felt it could find a home here. Another solid album where the creativity is turned up to 11 and the performance up to 12.

1 Fly In The Batter..... Funk guitar alternates with grungy slide guitar. Great bridge, great solo, great song

2 Lost..... Very progressive. Odd time signatures. Guitar alternates with xylophone until a spoken word section begins about being lost in the forest. All this repeats with another awesome solo in the middle

3 Raygun..... Basically a blues song but the guitar effects actually sound like a raygun. Very cool

4 Hole In The Sky..... A short distorted instrumental. Pleasant and just the right length.

5 Children of Sierra Leone..... A strange instrumental that kinda sounds like tortured souls

6 Don Pardo Pimpwagon..... Way cool! I guess this is based on the theme to "The Newlywed Game" TV show or something similar. It has a theme show sound to it. Don Pardo is the voice you hear on "Saturday Night Live." This is a soloing masterpiece. Not only does Bumblefoot remind us he's still a virtuoso of the first degree but that he does it with a sense of quirkiness that makes him so unique. Matthias IA Eklundh contributes his guitar skills as well making this an amazing track!

7 Legend of Van Cleef..... Now for something completely different. Maybe a theme song for medieval knights conquering new lands? Or maybe a Monty Python spoof of the whole thing. Another interesting track

8 Guitars SUCK..... And you thought "Don Pardo" was the showcase of his guitar skills. Well this one takes the cake. This is the most sophisticated neoclassical guitar wankery since his own "Chopin Fantasie." He proves he is indeed in the same league as Vai, Malmsteen, Jason Becker etc. Lightning fast and precise and well-composed. Dizzifying

9 Hall of Souls..... Interesting short acoustic instrumental. Really makes you feel like the title suggests

10 Top of the World..... This is a bluesy gospel based song about a girl jumping off a ledge to end her life. Awesome solo by Dweezil Zappa

11 R2..... Also on the French Uncool album as well as Forgotten Anthology. This sucker gets around. An instrumental that reminds me of the Swingle Singers with a Latin band, a flautist and a virtuoso guitarist. Very cool, I mean uncool.

12 Time..... An interesting track. Acoustic with backmasking, subdued vocals. It's all about how we're living on borrowed time. Reminds us our lives are on the clock. Agressive fade out. Strange but awesome