Lyle Workman "Harmonic Crusader"...GOOD LAWD!!!

[CDaughtry]

I just downloaded this CD off of itunes. This guy is incredible. His playing, tone and song choice is off the charts!
Any other Lyle fans?

[decay-o-caster]

That CD kills. I got a chance to hear a pre-release of it a few months ago and ordered it when it became available. That boy puts much information in his every song!

[Jim S]

His soundtrack to SUPERBAD was stanky funky!!!

[Ulysses]

He's in a league all by himself....... Plays and and records with all the current pop heavies, writes one dynamite blockbuster movie soundtrack after another, then turns around and basically records a clinic like "Harmonic Crusader" that can take any player out there to school... I don't care who and how good you are.

[GuitarsFromMars]

I have known of him since he worked with Rundgren on 'Nearly Human'. Monster.

[PosterBoy]

I didn't realise he was one of the guys in Bourgeois Tag, I've still got the 12" of 'I don't mind at all' somewhere

[ToneGurus]

I didn't realise he was one of the guys in Bourgeois Tag, I've still got the 12" of 'I don't mind at all' somewhereSpeaking of which, they did a benefit reunion concert a year ago, (Red Suede and I attended) which is now available on DVD from Brent, here:

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=90162594451&h=XonbM&u=xNf1K&ref=mf

http://www.tonegurus.com/budz4.bmp

Lyle is also interviewed in the August issue of Guitar Player magazine, with some information on the making of the new CD.

Mike

[Lucidology]

Yo Mike (or Oliver pictured dere) ... was Lyle also part of Uncle Rainbow after Carlos Rios left the band..?

[ToneGurus]

Yo Mike (or Oliver pictured dere) ... was Lyle also part of Uncle Rainbow after Carlos Rios left the band..?No, they recruited Lyle for B.T. He was in a top 40 band playing all over the Bay Area (Silent Mink) for 3 years prior to B.T.

The guitarist for Uncle Rainbow couldn't make it to the reunion gig (had a relative die the week before, ouch...) so another guy jumped in and did a great job learning and performing all of their tunes on a moment's notice.

Mike

[big mike]

Heh. he got to play my thorn before I did. LOL

[cdaloia]

I really dig Lyle's playing/writing.
He's a monster.......
Check out his myspace,

http://www.myspace.com/lyleworkman

Chuck

[ivers]

Killer stuff, wasn't really aware of the guy before now although I'd seen his name here and there. Thanks!

[BobbyFudge]

Amazing player and a great guy.

[Steve Snider]

Freekin' great record. Lyle is so good. I remember when I was 21 and lived across the street from The Albatross club in Santa Cruz and BT and Uncle Rainbow played there all the time. Great bands of the day. Caught Wedemeyer at the Catalyst when he was 18 and he mentioned his two fave guitarists- Chris Cain and Lyle Workman.

The new record is great and I highly suggest it to all here.

[JohnnyGtar]

Lyle is a friend. He's a great player and a great guy.

[TNJ]

Holy Sh*t!!! Colaiuta, Novak, the 2-Jimmy's (Earl and Johnson) on Bass...Larry 'freaking' Golding on B3???? :eek:

Just checked out the clips. :dude

That baby has been ORDERED. Thanks for the heads up CDaughtry!

S.
j

[AD]

I downloaded the album off itunes.....great album. talented guy...

[Greg V.]

I love Lyle's "Harmonic Crusader", fantastic compositions, playing, production and orchestrations. A brilliant milestone release for sure!

[rw2003]

My wife is a BIG Frank Black (and Pixies) fan. Frank Black's first few solo albums have Lyle Workman playing lead. That's how I "discovered" him. Great rock guitar playing.

Teenager of the Year
Cult Of Ray
Frank Black And The Catholics

[Frank Prince]

I just downloaded this from iTunes the other day and have listened through a couple of times.................................... I think it is a pretty astounding album.

He obviously has some DEEP composing chops. All of the tunes seem to either start out from or go to (at least to me) unexpected places, but it all sounds very musical in the process.

Lyle also seems to be an amazing guitar player in at least 15 different directions. Prog, fusion, classic rock style lead, country, fingerstyle, classical guitar, Holdsworth-leaning weird chord stuff, gypsy jazz, shred, E-Bow mastery, sitar, GORGEOUS slide playing.......................................this guy has it all. It's always great to hear a guitarist whose composing chops rival his guitar chops. Things just get exponentially more interesting.

I will probably be spinning this quite a bit, and picking up all the rest of his solo stuff as well.

[ToneGurus]

I will probably be spinning this quite a bit, and picking up all the rest of his solo stuff as well.Indeed, do that. The first two are great in their own right.

Regarding Harmonic Crusader, I got 2 copies and gave one to my 16 year old son who is a big fan of Lyle's. It's in constant rotation for him. I had told Lyle that he's reaching another generation, and he's pretty blown away at the prospect.

Mike

[Ulysses]

He obviously has some DEEP composing chops. All of the tunes seem to either start out from or go to (at least to me) unexpected places, but it all sounds very musical in the process.

Lyle also seems to be an amazing guitar player in at least 15 different directions. Prog, fusion, classic rock style lead, country, fingerstyle, classical guitar, Holdsworth-leaning weird chord stuff, gypsy jazz, shred, E-Bow mastery, sitar, GORGEOUS slide playing.......................................this guy has it all. It's always great to hear a guitarist whose composing chops rival his guitar chops. Things just get exponentially more interesting.



I've had about half these tracks in rough mix form for over three years. Even though I should have known better I went in with the assumption it would be another typical "player's" record. Slick and fusion-ey written mainly as a vehicle to feature the player's chops. Lyle's guitar playing is not only secondary to the compositions, he many times introduces the guitar "solo" late as a seemingly incidental character in the plot only to have it return at the end as the telling conclusion that ties the loose ends of a complex story together.

Even though his technical chops are absolute world class he shows great restraint in using them only when they are essential to the dynamics of the music. Although it is a guitarist's record that probably won't find many listeners outside the guitar magazine crowd it's still a testament to his selfless personality and why he is such an anomaly in the world of heavy weight "guitar slingers". You just won't find too many guys if any at all with his technical ability that are able to make their career overlap in a big way into so many musical endeavors. He could easily flex his muscles and bang it out as a guitar hero along side the Satriani's, Govan's, and EJ's but chooses to contribute (and flourish) as the consummate team player.

[Red Suede]

Lyle just loves music. He's never been one that could be "boxed in" stylistically. He's pretty much moved on as to what he likes to listen to, but he can play pretty much anything, although i've never heard him play straight up classical.

[Red Suede]

Holy Sh*t!!! Colaiuta, Novak, the 2-Jimmy's (Earl and Johnson) on Bass...Larry 'freaking' Golding on B3???? :eek:

Just checked out the clips. :dude

That baby has been ORDERED. Thanks for the heads up CDaughtry!

S.
j

Shows how good Lyle really is. These folks are now his peers. A long way from his "Silent Mink" days. Mr Greg V. is no slouch either. I remember when Lyle and I got to judge him in a Guitar Center contest years ago and he was using a modified telecaster. We saw him in San Francisco and he blew our minds! Another great player.

[ToneGurus]

Shows how good Lyle really is. These folks are now his peers. A long way from his "Silent Mink" days. Mr Greg V. is no slouch either. I remember when Lyle and I got to judge him in a Guitar Center contest years ago and he was using a modified telecaster. We saw him in San Francisco and he blew our minds! Another great player.Remember the clinics with Jeff Porcaro and Steve Gadd? What, 25 years ago? And I sure wish Sting would release that studio work they did together.

Mike

[Neer]

I first remember hearing Lyle Workman on the first Mike Varney US Metal release on Schrapnel. That's going back a few years. Anyone still have that record?

[ToneGurus]

I first remember hearing Lyle Workman on the first Mike Varney US Metal release on Schrapnel. That's going back a few years. Anyone still have that record?Got it right here. Had it since its release. Lyle played it for me. Do you know he did (I think) all of the instruments on that cut, "Code 3"?

Here's the cover. Lyle is pictured with his 335 on the left:

http://i.ebayimg.com/04/!BS0B+s!!2k~$(KGrHgoH-CMEjlLly1TnBKFFfIdFb!~~_1.JPG

Mike

[Neer]

Cool. I'd love to hear that record again. I gave mine away many moons ago. I also remember a unique player in a band called Chumbi or something like that.

[TNJ]

I got the CD over the weekend.
Listened to it on the way to work this morning.


Outstanding.


One of my fave CD's for '09.


Highly recommended.

S.
j

[Red Suede]

Funny story about Lyle. One day we were in a guitar store and he detuned one of the strings on a guitar and started playing all these cool chords. I say "what is that"? He tells me its a song he wrote on a Frank Black album. I say "how'd you come up with that tuning"? He says "Frank's guitar was out of tune at his house and I just made up chords around the out of tune string". After I closed my mouth I realized one of my best friends was a genius on guitar. Anyone else would have tuned up the guitar and proceeded to play bad blues progressions and licks. I wish I could remember which album the song is on.......... Maybe he'll post and can tell you which one it is.

[ToneGurus]

Anyone else would have tuned up the guitar and proceeded to play bad blues progressions and licks.That's certainly what I would have done! Tell the Landau story.

Mike

[Red Suede]

So Lyle is on a session in L.A. and Mike Landau heard him play and asks him "do you sightread music very well"? Lyle says "no, not really". Mike says "whew" or something to that effect. As we all know though, Mike is no slouch and he and Lyle are completely different players, but that's just mutual respect being paid between two ninjas of guitar.

[Frank Prince]

So Lyle is on a session in L.A. and Mike Landau heard him play and asks him "do you sightread music very well"? Lyle says "no, not really". Mike says "whew" or something to that effect. As we all know though, Mike is no slouch and he and Lyle are completely different players, but that's just mutual respect being paid between two ninjas of guitar.Heh, great story.

BTW, it's nice to see really great guitar players like Dann Huff, Lyle, John Shanks, Trevor Rabin, etc., who are largely unknown to the general public for most of their careers take a step up to some acclaim as hot producers, film composers, and so on.

It warms my heart to know that these same guys probably freaked out and hit the woodshed with their guitars as soon as they heard Jimmy Page, Van Halen, etc., just like the rest of us.

[bforest4]

So Lyle is on a session in L.A. and Mike Landau heard him play and asks him "do you sightread music very well"? Lyle says "no, not really". Mike says "whew" or something to that effect. As we all know though, Mike is no slouch and he and Lyle are completely different players, but that's just mutual respect being paid between two ninjas of guitar.

I worked on a cool, eclectic soul/alternative rock album - Robb Boldt "Bliss of Affection". It had Lyle Workman and Mike Landau all over the record, 2 songs feature both on the same song. They are both incredible players but very different styles, it was awesome watching them lay down their ideas and parts. I cowrote most of the tracks and played some of the guitars. We had a really nice budget for the record and got to hire whoever we wanted and work in the best studios. I helped pick most of the amazing session players including Lyle, Mike Landau, Vinnie Colaiuta, Toss Panos, Michael Urbano, Lenny Castro, Jeff Babko, and Cameron Stone(Poe's amazing Cello player) . It was released in 1999 on Trauma Records, and unfortunately didn't get alot of publicity.

Really digging "Harmonic Crusader"!

[drgonzoguitar]

I just got "Harmonic Crusader." Good grief...it is so cool that I don't think I can even describe it. It is simply amazing.

[Red Suede]

I worked on a cool, eclectic soul/alternative rock album - Robb Boldt "Bliss of Affection". It had Lyle Workman and Mike Landau all over the record, 2 songs feature both on the same song. They are both incredible players but very different styles, it was awesome watching them lay down their ideas and parts. I cowrote most of the tracks and played some of the guitars. We had a really nice budget for the record and got to hire whoever we wanted and work in the best studios. I helped pick most of the amazing session players including Lyle, Mike Landau, Vinnie Colaiuta, Toss Panos, Michael Urbano, Lenny Castro, Jeff Babko, and Cameron Stone(Poe's amazing Cello player) . It was released in 1999 on Trauma Records, and unfortunately didn't get alot of publicity.

Really digging "Harmonic Crusader"!

Well, i'll have to try and find that. You got some great players. I got to know Mike urbano when he and Lyle were playing in Bourgeois Tagg. Toss I got to know when he played with Kevin Gilbert. Sounds like an interesting album.

[atquinn]

I got this CD a while back when I got Ed Degenaro's latest albums. Some of the grooves feel stiff, in places, but the more I listen to it the more it grows on me. My favorite song is the one that starts out with eBow guitars and then turns into an orchestra. I heard that on his MySpace pages ages ago and have been waiting to get it on album ever since.

-Austin

[ToneGurus]

I worked on a cool, eclectic soul/alternative rock album - Robb Boldt "Bliss of Affection". It had Lyle Workman and Mike Landau all over the record, 2 songs feature both on the same song. They are both incredible players but very different styles, it was awesome watching them lay down their ideas and parts. I cowrote most of the tracks and played some of the guitars. We had a really nice budget for the record and got to hire whoever we wanted and work in the best studios. I helped pick most of the amazing session players including Lyle, Mike Landau, Vinnie Colaiuta, Toss Panos, Michael Urbano, Lenny Castro, Jeff Babko, and Cameron Stone(Poe's amazing Cello player) . It was released in 1999 on Trauma Records, and unfortunately didn't get alot of publicity.

Really digging "Harmonic Crusader"!YOU... have excellent taste in musicians!

Mike

[meterman]

Thanks for the heads up, I just checked some clips and then ordered the disc off CD Baby. Sounds like some really cool stuff!! :phones

[Carltone]

OK...track 5 on Harmonic Crusader called "Unconditional Love"

~not fair!

My god, what TONE, TASTE, and TECHNIQUE! Not to mention songcraft, dynamics, pacing, and soul.

I give up...:jo nah! Too inspiring... off to da woodshed!

[gassyndrome]

I'm intrigued. Just picked it up - cant wait to have a listen while I walk the dogs!

[EL34]

Funny story about Lyle. One day we were in a guitar store and he detuned one of the strings on a guitar and started playing all these cool chords. I say "what is that"? He tells me its a song he wrote on a Frank Black album. I say "how'd you come up with that tuning"? He says "Frank's guitar was out of tune at his house and I just made up chords around the out of tune string". After I closed my mouth I realized one of my best friends was a genius on guitar. Anyone else would have tuned up the guitar and proceeded to play bad blues progressions and licks. I wish I could remember which album the song is on.......... Maybe he'll post and can tell you which one it is.

I REALLY like Lyles work with FB.

[GAT]

I just got it a couple days ago, really great and very deep.

[SkydogFan81]

I have the record. There is so much to digest. Awesome!

[WoodyTone com]

Very nice -- thanks for the heads-up.

[guitbeef]

A fellow TGP'er just bought an extra copy and gave it to me. It has totally busted my thinking and listening wide open. The textures, tones, and compositions are unreal, unlike any "guitar" album I've heard, very unique. And though the focus is not "chops" (to my ears, at least), he tastefully throws in some killer passages, which again are very unique and fresh. Lyle's just got it all- tone, technique, tastefulness, writing, and none of those elements get in the way of the other.

[Carltone]

A fellow TGP'er just bought an extra copy and gave it to me. It has totally busted my thinking and listening wide open. The textures, tones, and compositions are unreal, unlike any "guitar" album I've heard, very unique. And though the focus is not "chops" (to my ears, at least), he tastefully throws in some killer passages, which again are very unique and fresh. Lyle's just got it all- tone, technique, tastefulness, writing, and none of those elements get in the way of the other.

have you heard his Tabula Rasa" cd? It has a theme that runs thru the entire cd, making it a real neat listen... very cool tunes on there, as well... It's one of my fave discs... Harmonic Crusader is awesome too, but there is something really special on Tabula Rasa... to me, anyway...

Enjoy!

[plexistack]

I bought a '79 V from Lyle back in the late 80's. I still have it. What an axe. Thanks Lyle!

[guitbeef]

have you heard his Tabula Rasa" cd? It has a theme that runs thru the entire cd, making it a real neat listen... very cool tunes on there, as well... It's one of my fave discs... Harmonic Crusader is awesome too, but there is something really special on Tabula Rasa... to me, anyway...

Enjoy!

Done deal, I gotta check that out! Thanks for the heads up.

[Uncle_Salty]

After the glowing recommendations on here, I went ahead and picked up Harmonic Crusader. Thanks very much, guys. What a wonderful disc! As many others have said, he's a great player but the thing that stands out about this record is the compositions. Stunning! I'll have to go back and pick up his other solo albums. Is the Superbad soundtrack worth getting?