KITT WAKELEY (feat. Joe Satriani & Andy Timmons) – Symphony of Sinners and Saints (2021)
Multi-award-winning composer / keyboardist KITT WAKELEY is releasing “Symphony of Sinners and Saints“, a fascinating record that blurs the lines between movie soundtrack and hard rock album, going from gorgeous orchestrations to heavy guitar riffs and thundering drums.
Unlike many instrumental rock albums of the past 30 years, which essentially seem to be an excuse for an impossibly talented guitarist to shred for all that he/she is worth, there is an almost impossibly melodic approach to this album, with lots of very cool orchestration across all of the tracks and with focus on melody and instrumental arrangements to build each piece.
Kitt’s compositions are a fantastically energetic journey through an incredibly creative, sonic landscape, and his full rock band is joined by guest guitarists Joe Satriani & Danger Danger’s Andy Timmons, and the Royal Philharmonic and London Philharmonic. Yes, a real orchestra, something really rare to find nowadays, and recorded at the legendary Abbey Road studios in UK.
When Wakeley isn’t writing for himself, he is producing pop, rock and country music for other artists which are featured on various streaming sites and retail outlets. He finds satisfaction in seeing or hearing the appreciation and excitement of the artists when he has finished a project on their behalf.
Finding himself in contact with many potential collaborators, he’s been fortunate to pick the kinds of projects to produce on his terms. Working with musicians from around the world allows him to collaborate with those who provide the same magic for the biggest artists in the industry – these names include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, Motley Crue, Michael Jackson, Steve Vai, and many many more.
Keyboards, orchestral instrumentation and rocking electric guitars have equal billing across the album; no one instrument is allowed to dominate, with the focus of the instrumentation clearly being defined by the needs of each individual track.
Overall, it’s really difficult to categorise this album and in fact, attempting to do so is a pointless waste of time; it just needs to be enjoyed for what it is; a rock album with guitar, huge bass lines, pounding drums, chorus, and superb orchestrations.
It’s very obvious that Wakeley is influenced by a wide range of musical styles and genres and he builds these into the compositions with ease, from Steve Vai or Satriani to Alan Parsons or Pink Floyd, and add a dash of electronics too.
Nothing feels forced: everything just fits perfectly.
There are some themes that emerge across the album, e.g. the use of chugging heavy symphonic rock rhythm guitars, the use of massed strings and the use of vocal choirs. All of these elements help to provide cohesion and continuity across the diverse range of tracks throughout the album.
Interestingly, this whole album plays out less like a piece of music and rather more like an aural movie, with each track taking the part of a separate scene from the overall ‘film’.
It really does have a very cinematic feel to it, with songs not over the 4 minute mark and variation.
‘Sinners and Saints’ is a fine example of this record; the massed choral vocals in this one suggest it would be perfect for an action scene in a movie like ‘The Davinci Code’. The use of choral vocals is also quite unusual in instrumental rock music and it adds a lot to the emotional impact on those tracks where it features heavily – sometimes slightly sinister, sometimes more uplifting.
The album contains a large list of guest musicians who provide sterling support to Wakeley’s own instrumental contributions and support him magnificently in the creation of his latest musical vision.
Joe Satriani pops up to provide some great cool guitar parts on ‘Forgive Me’, which also includes those massed choral vocals, and on ‘Conflicted’ with some mightily melodic guitar work, which really adds to the track.
Guitars on other tracks are supplied by ex-Danger Danger guitarist Andy Timmons, who manages to incorporate a huge amount of melody into all of his guitar solo sections on the album, even when he does go into ‘shred’ mode, such as in the excellent ‘End of My Journey’ (which is unusual in that it features vocal hooks rather than simply relying on instrumental and choral arrangements) and in the stunning finale ‘Echoes of Amadeus’.
The album also features the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who recorded their parts at Abbey Road studios. Clearly no expense has been spared in the making of this opus and it shows in the stunning quality of the final product.
Mention must also be made of the production and mix on this album. It really is quite superb and sounds a million dollars throughout.
Fans of clever, different instrumental music based on rock/orchestra are really urged to seek this one out. The album is great on first listen, but repeated plays reveal more and more layers and the listener will find him / herself drawn further in and finding new things to hear with each listen.
A stunning piece of creative artistry.
01 – Wicked Ways
02 – Sinners and Saints
03 – Forgive Me (feat. Joe Satriani)
04 – Hello Again
05 – Conflicted (feat. Joe Satriani)
06 – No Apologies
07 – Requiem of the Fallen
08 – End of My Journey (feat. Andy Timmons)
09 – You Gave Me Wings
10 – Echoes of Amadeus (feat. Andy Timmons)
Kitt Wakeley – synths, piano
Joe Satriani – guitar
Andy Timmons – guitar
Paige Harwell – guitar Daniel Uribe – guitar
Paul Lumis – keyboards
Ryan Miller – bass
Brent Berry – drums
London Voices Choir
Dallas All Star Gospel Choir
Cliff Masterson conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
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www.kittwakeley.com/merch
