Mattias IA Eklundh - Freak Guitar (1999)

The title sums it up perfectly: 22 tracks of nearly all-instrumental, mostly original guitar music that is at once over the top, wild, intense, silly, screeching, humorous, and beautiful. The thirty-something Swede, a Frank Zappa disciple, recorded Freak Guitar on an eight-track in his bathroom with little or no effects (despite the outrageous sounds you hear). Most of the cuts are heavy and intense doses of headbanging material filled with lightning-fast shredding and mind-boggling runs up and down the fretboard. A few songs, though, stand out from the rest and serve to break up the somewhat tedious pattern (Eklundh himself -- in the informative and entertaining self-penned liner notes -- says, "Listening to this record from the beginning to the end nearly drove me insane."). There's the fastest version of "La Bamba" you're probably ever going to come across. There's a reeling, upbeat, pseudo-folk music theme that incorporates a 9/8 time signature. There's Kiss meets Django Reinhardt in a hilarious acoustic version of "Detroit Rock City." Best of all, there's a jazzy original called "Squirrel" that features warm, multi-layered harmony vocals. This song is just plain cool. Freak Guitar is a must-have for six-string nerds, but anyone who loves and appreciates groundbreaking music from a truly talented player will find plenty to smile -- and laugh -- about.