Patrick Goble - Big Bad World CD Review

You know what you're going to get with some artists, say AC/DC or George Thorogood. Other musicians are not as easy to pigeonhole. Some like Patrick Goble have a wandering muse that takes them into a varied musical landscape on each outing.

Patrick is a 22 year-old guy from Kentucky. He was a child prodigy that has mastered various styles of music and has released several records. His latest, Big Bad World, is like a musical buffet. You can sample a bit of this and a bit of that.

Starting off the record is "Know Jack" where Patrick proves his musical prowess with a considerable show of abilities. He is a blinding guitarist, tossing off solos so fast your head whirls. He is equally adept at drumming, rolling a tom second to none and throwing down a vicious double bass. The song if one of those took-at-me vanity pieces and it's impressive indeed. Some of these kinds of songs by other artists typically go off into bore-you-to-tears territory but not this one. It's a showcase but also a good song.

On the title cut, Patrick shifts to his low vocal register at times while combing with his regular voice and the effect works well. This is a nice moody cut that is full of emotion and comes off like a gothic love story.

"Comfort" is just simply a beautiful song. A gorgeous melody is supported by Patrick's understated acoustic guitar and a bit of organ. Possibly the most engaging song on the record is "My Blessing". Proving that sometimes less is more, Patrick just sticks to organ and his voice. Emotion just oozes out of this cut which is melancholy yet comforting.

Close to Lindsey Buckingham territory, "Pretense" amazes with the nimble guitar work on this instrumental. On "New Shred", it's back to the business of speed where the hummingbird guitar just dazzles. The song reminds one of Jeff Beck's earlier jazz period.

While a couple of the next cuts do nothing for me, Patrick redeems himself with "Majestic Acoustics". This is a fantastic Spanish guitar piece with flair and positively dream-like passages that draw you in like a magnet.

The rest of the songs on this 15 cut disc all exude a feeling of material that has been crafted with care from somebody who truly appreciates the craft of songwriting and the joy of making music. If you dislike conformity and appreciate a bit of diversity with a high degree of skill in your music, Patrick Goble might just be the guy for you.

Rating: 4 out of 5

The MorleyView

Some musicians work towards the rock-star MTV thing, complete with parties, groupies and bling. Others opt for a more low-key position with the emphasis aimed at the music. Count Patrick Goble in the latter category. He's a real talent that crafts his records without the help of a label, record company budget or hit video.

Patrick's latest record Big Bad World shows that he is a tremendously gifted guitarist with a knack for creating memorable songs, not just speed runs. He answered some questions by email recently about his terrific record and how he created it.

antiMUSIC: You have a real diverse set of songs on Big Bad World. Were you purposefully making the record really diverse or did the songs just come forward like this?

Patrick: As a rule of thumb, I try not to have any pre-conceived notions when I begin a new project. I want the material to be as fresh and unique to me as possible. In the past, the few times I did try to fit my music into some sort of rigid structure, I was very dissatisfied with the results. So I decided to let the music take its own shape and form, I'm there just to capture it. The majority of the time the songs are actually written during the recording process. There are exceptions to this of course. "Know Jack" and "New Shred" would be two of them.

antiMUSIC: BBW has some really interesting songs. How did the record all come together? When did you first start getting the songs together as a package?

Patrick: Well truthfully, I just write everything that comes to mind and after I get ten or fifteen tracks. I sort through the rubbish, pick my favorites, put them all together and call it an album.

antiMUSIC: Was it a laborious process or did they come fairly easily?

Patrick: Most of the time the songs come together with ease. Especially the ones I end up liking the most. For some reason, it seems as if the songs that require the most work are the ones I end up liking the least. While the tracks that almost seem to come together on their own end up my faves. The title track "Big Bad World" for example, was conceptualized, arranged, recorded and mastered in four hours.

antiMUSIC: Can you tell us a bit about a couple of the songs --- either what they're about or something interesting that happened while writing/recording them?

a. "Know Jack"
b. "Comfort"
c. "Pretense"
d. "New Shred"

Patrick: Let's see. "Know Jack" was a lot of fun to do, and hopefully that comes across on the recording. That one took a grand total of two days to write and record. Working eight hour days. "Comfort" has to be one of my all time faves. That song means very much to me. The story behind it is kind of personal, but anyone that listens closely to the lyrics can probably piece together it's meaning. "Pretense" was a frustrating piece. About half way through I didn't know where to go with it, so I put it down until the second half came to me. And "New Shred" was a lot of fun too! I came up with the melody to that one in a dream believe it or not. Recording it was relatively painless.

antiMUSIC: Since you played everything yourself, is this a matter of economics or do you prefer to take the hands-on approach since nobody knows the material like you do?

Patrick: I get asked this question from time to time. When I was growing up, home schooled in rural Kentucky, I didn't know any other musicians. But I wanted to record the music I was writing. So it started out as a matter of necessity, I guess. Drums were the first instrument I learned how to play. Followed shortly thereafter by the piano. I was twelve when I picked up the guitar and over the next five years I picked up seven other instruments. After years of playing all of the instruments on the music I'd recorded, it just seemed too foreign trying to explain how I wanted my music to sound to another musician. I suspect, I will end up recording my music this way indefinitely. Live shows however, are an entirely different headache.

antiMUSIC: Did you choose music as a career or did it choose you?

Patrick: It chose me. Without a doubt.

antiMUSIC: You play a variety of instruments. What is your musical background in terms of training?

Patrick: I'm self trained. I learned how to play every instrument I play by either ear, book or instructional video that I'd ordered through the mail. When I was seventeen I won the Musicianship Award Scholarship from G.I.T, and went to school there. So I've had some formal training.

antiMUSIC: Considering you're always learning about music as you steadily create, what have you learned between the last record and this one?

Patrick: Between "Big Bad World" and the album before it, I think the most valuable lesson I've learned is that technical doesn't always equal good and that sometimes it just equals junk. "Big Bad World" has some of my most heartfelt music to date on it. Those are the ones that I'm proud of.

antiMUSIC: What are your ambitions, musically speaking? Would you like to write a million unit selling CD, get scooped by a major label or continue or your current path with total autonomy?

Patrick: That is an awesome question. I wish I had an awesome answer to it. Autonomy certainly has it's pros and cons, and it's very difficult to get my music out there without label backing. The market is completely saturated, making it tough to get noticed. I guess I'd have to say that I'd love to have someone backing me as long as it didn't interfere with the creative process. And a truly loyal fan base is worth so much more than the fleeting fame and sales of those shiny fifteen minutes, in my opinion.

antiMUSIC: Tell us about your instructional book, Shredding 101. How and why did you come to publish this?

Patrick: I wrote Shredding 101 when I was seventeen. It just catalogues and breaks down the techniques that I used to develop my technical skills on the guitar. It, along with a copy of a performance that I did on PBS when I was sixteen got me the scholarship to G.I.T. I guess someone there thought it was decent. Everyone that's bought it has told me that it helped them. Hopefully they were telling the truth.

antiMUSIC: Considering it says on your MySpace that you are continually writing and recording, what is the next project for you?

Patrick: I'm making the crossover into orchestral music. Within the next year, I hope to have my thirty-five minute symphony finished and recorded. It will be the largest and hopefully most significant work of my career.

antiMUSIC: Anything else you would like to tell us that I didn't ask you?

Patrick: "Big Bad World" the complete album is now available through i-Tunes and a dozen or so other online digital music retailers. AShredding 101A is available for purchase through download at lulu.com and physical copies are available at my old web-site, patrickgoble.com. Lastly, I'd like to say thank you to all of the people that have supported me throughout the years. I write music for you guys.