The veteran Roger Miller has made many an admirable record on piano, but deep down, one is often reminded of what a major talent he was as the guitarist leader of Boston's Mission of Burma 15 years ago (they were widely regarded as America's best post-punk band of that era, often called the American Wire and the American Gang of Four), before he was felled by Tinnitus (continuous ringing in the ears caused by exposure to very loud sounds, the same problem that has so hindered Pete Townshend's career), causing that group's end. But here, as with his No Man project (which for a while featured Sugar's Malcolm Travis on drums, causing the pain to return to Miller's ears), Miller returns to that instrument he originally excelled at and the results are as hoped. Mission of Burma had a weirder side, one that utilized tape loops and experimented with odd sound collages. Elemental Guitar makes much use of such loops and most of all his fractured guitar sound (and even some vocals, bass, and drums) to form a unique and challenging record that, for all its aggression, is also pleasant to the ear. Covers of Jimi Hendrix's 1967 classic "Are You Experienced" (from the LP of the same name; this vibrating guitar-and-vocal version was recorded live on WMBR) and Eno & Cluster's "Broken Head" are particularly provocative, but all the material here is pretty stimulating -- check out the fiery "Warp Zombie." Elemental Guitar is Miller's finest post-Burma outing since it so well picks up a similar thread as that well-missed group. ~ Jack Rabid, Rovi

1		Misunderstanding The Time
2		Lost Eyes
3		Repair
4		Dream Interpretation No. 7
5		Warp Zombie
6		Broken Head
7		Off/On
8		Dream Interpretation No. 8
9		Talamin Yarka
10		Are You Experienced

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