| “a way you’ll never be” - by the way, the use of small letters is done by purpose – marks the eighth studio album from John Wesley. The album brings a modernized return to the classic progressive rock albums of the Seventies. Wesley is standing on the shoulders of his influences such as Rush, Pink Floyd, and Porcupine Tree with the stylings of guitarists such as Robin Trower, Jeff Beck, Alex Lifeson and Warren Haynes. “'a way you'll never be' was a fairly big step for me”, Wesley says. “I have worked extremely hard at bringing the two sides of my writing together; the "acoustic singer songwriter" and the "electric heavy guitar" elements. This album is most certainly the set of songs that has successfully combined my introspective lyrics with the aggressive type of guitar playing and writing that I love. Mark Prator and Sean Malone brought the songs to life as an amazing rhythm section. The themes of the lyrics, the melodies, and the playing make these my favourite, most cohesive and adventurous set of tracks to date. Stylistically the songs revisit some of the guitar music of the 70's that grabbed me and made me want to be a guitarist. Sonically I combined those 70's big guitar tones with the modern sounds available to us as guitarists today." John Wesley has built a long and varied career as a songwriter, “sideman” guitarist, and recording artist. His music has been called lyrically sensitive and musically dynamic. His songwriting style incorporates emotionally-charged vocals that evoke the honesty and intimacy of Roger Waters and Patty Griffin coupled with a melodic yet intricate guitar style. John Wesley has performed as sideman, guitarist/vocalist for critically acclaimed UK based recording act Porcupine Tree, during the "In Absentia", "Deadwing", "Fear of a Blank Planet", and "The Incident" world tours. He has performed in the band for nine years, culminating in 2010 with sold out performances at Radio City Music Hall and the Royal Albert Hall. |