During the post-Van Halen shred eruption of the '80s, only a few guitarists made anything that resembled a unique musical statement.
For every Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, there were a dozen Joey Tafollas.
Perhaps the most groundbreaking musician of this era was Yngwie Malmsteen.
The Swedish virtuoso had many imitators, and Vinnie Moore was chief among them.
After a successful debut on shred-specialty label Shrapnel Records, Moore landed a deal with Mercury and released Time Odyssey at the height of solo rock guitar excess in 1988.
On the disc's first two tracks, "Morning Star" and "Prelude/Into the Future," Moore tosses off some guitar harmonies that bear a huge resemblance to Deep Purple (an acknowledged Malmsteen influence).
Moore then glides through a few competent, slightly passive rock numbers before Time Odyssey's most impressive cut, "Race With Destiny." Unfortunately, this neo-classical number is an utter Malmsteen rip-off.
Of the imitators, Moore ranks high, due to his accurate playing and warm tone, but offerings like Time Odyssey are missing the emotional substance and/or technical innovation they need to be considered important shred documents.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morning StarVinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 2 | Prelude/Into the FutureJordan Rudess | Vinnie Moore | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | Beyond the DoorVinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 4 | Message in a DreamJordan Rudess | Vinnie Moore | Play | 09:10 | 21 MB | 59 MB |
| 5 | As Time Slips ByVinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 06:43 | 15 MB | 39 MB |
| 6 | Race with DestinyVinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 06:36 | 15 MB | 43 MB |
| 7 | While My Guitar Gently WeepsGeorge Harrison | Vinnie Moore | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 8 | The TempestVinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 08:48 | 20 MB | 50 MB |
| 9 | Pieces of a PictureVinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 06:14 | 14 MB | 38 MB |
| 10 | April SkyJohann Sebastian Bach, Vinnie Moore | Vinnie Moore | Play | 05:11 | 11 MB | 29 MB |
| 60 mins | 139 MB | |||||
| 60 mins | 373 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Alexander | Engineer |
| 2 | Johann Sebastian Bach | Composer |
| 3 | Michael Bean | Bass |
| 4 | Joe Franco | Drums |
| 5 | George Harrison | Composer |
| 6 | Victor Moore | Arranger, Composer |
| 7 | Vinnie Moore | Composer, Guitar, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 8 | Jordan Rudess | Composer, Keyboards |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |