Is Jason Becker's AIR the pinnacle of neo classical guitar composition and playing ?

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Been thinking about this a lot lately.
What do you think?
I can't come up with a better track save for Uli Jon Roth's version of Vivaldi's 4 seasons which is :
A.Not an original piece
B.Highly orchestrated.
Then there's Yngwie with The Concerto Suite for Electric Guitar and Orchestra in E-flat minor, Op. 1
I think Jason owns the crown, ALS notwithstanding
edit - he recorded this at age 18

 
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I was the independent/small label buyer at a Tower Records, in the heyday of shred.(my Shrapnel cd collection is proof of this.:LOL:)
I thought Jason’s(and Marty’s as well) solo album was the crazy good. However, I preferred “Speed Metal Symphony” off the first Cacophony album, to anything off of their solo albums.
To my ears, it was dense and “out there”.
 
Not classical, but I'll go with my fav Shrapnel shred album being "Truth in Shredding" from 1990, The Mark Varney Project (MVP)

 
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My favorite Shrapnel record was Perpetual Burn for sure, and Eleven Blue Egyptians was my ultimate track, that switch to the blues at the end!!!! Wahhhh
 
NorCal_Val said:
I was the independent/small label buyer at a Tower Records, in the heyday of shred.(my Shrapnel cd collection is proof of this.:LOL:)
I thought Jason’s(and Marty’s as well) solo album was the crazy good. However, I preferred “Speed Metal Symphony” off the first Cacophony album, to anything off of their solo albums.
To my ears, it was dense and “out there”.
Click to expand...

yeah
purposely atonal and acerbic by design.
I equate this with Stravinsky.
In retrospect the cheap & fast production and mastering is crap and this album is begging a remix/remastering.
I have it on vinyl and it's a sonic mess.
All of those Shrapnel albums from that era were rush jobs with no budget recorded at Prairie Sun.
Some are better produced than others.
Vinnie Moore got lucky with his debut as did Greg Howe,
 
Yes all of these albums were great I grew up in this era when shrapnel records dominate the guitar scene but when I bought the album that is attached was simply mind blowing for me, the speed the aggressiveness' the arpeggios the musicality I was very impressed, and I been listening to marty friedman, jason becker, paul gilber, joey Tafolla, tony Mcalpine, michael lee firkins, tony fredianelli, toby knapp, later on mid 90s was joe stump michale harris, george bellas, etc.... but still go back in listen Yngwie's rising force and cacophony both alums and are simply masterpieces, imagine when only was jcm800s and plexis the tones from the albums were great.

 
Air is a masterpiece. The fact that it was written, arranged, and performed by a teenager with no formal music training is mind boggling.
 
No, it isn't. It's impressive for such a young musician, but it's a sloppy jumbled mess that doesn't have much direction. There are some beautiful lines here and there, but a mess overall.
 
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