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I have been an ardent Marcus Miller fan since listening to his previous release, M2. You’d probably wonder why a guitar fanatic like me gets overtly excited with the release of ‘Silver Rain’, well one thing for sure, Mr. Miller is one of the premier name in bass playing whose compositions, arrangements & technical virtuosity simply trigger lots of guitar ideas. Miller, together with Billy Sheehan & Jaco Pastorius are among the essential bass personalities on my list, so how does ‘Silver Rain’ measure up to its predecessors?
There’s no contest. ‘Silver Rain’ is a different palette of sonic manifestations partly because this release contains more collaborative efforts with other musicians & it also offers very intriguing cover versions of popular tunes.
For starters, I was blown away by the all bass intro, ‘Intro Duction’, the concluding bits made my jaw drop; Miller turned his signature jazz bass into a conga (more of that percussive technique in the concluding track, ‘Outro Duction’.)! Yikes! Moving along, you’d hear more of Miller’s signature bass pops & slaps, an intriguing offering would be the second track, ‘Bruce Lee’. It’s evident that Miller’s signature two handed tapping technique sets him apart from the rest of his peers, not that they aren’t as acrobatic as he is, but because every tapped note has a soulful retention that screams his name. Still on fretboard tapping, listen to Miller’s version of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Boogie on Raggae Woman’ & be overwhelmed by the tapped lick which Stevie originally conceived on keyboard. Sick! Another highlight in the album is the cover ‘Sophisticated Lady’ (Duke Ellington) which was done tastefully on a fretless bass. I’m not a big fan of slow numbers but this one won me over easily. A personal favourite is of course ‘Frankenstein’ (Edgar Winter) which was covered on a downbeat but sounds as effective. I’m now in possession of 2 absolutely lethal covers of ‘Frankenstein’, one being Miller’s souled-up version, the other being Overkill’s metal version which appeared in their ‘Horrorscope’ release. Of course, not forgetting the title track, ‘Silver Rain’, which features old ‘Slow Hand’ (that’s Eric Clapton if you don’t know by now) on vocals & guitar solo. An unsuspecting reggae number but a well composed one indeed.
What can I say, another marvelous release by Marcus Miller that guitar & bass fans would enjoy. If you liked M2, you’d easily revere this release because it moves away from the excessive soul theme, laced in that release. The strength of ‘Silver Rain’ lies with the captivating covers which were done very admirably. A thoroughly enjoyable, addictive release, definitely money well spent.
Check out:
Fender Marcus Miller bass
Overkill: Horrorscope
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