Artist: Steen Grøntved Album: Night Vision Goggles Label: Lion Music Website: http://www.steengrontved.dk Reviewer: Chris Piccirillo

Track List: Timber (4:13) The Worm (5:03) Playground (3:22) Home planet (3:13) Run (3:45) Bye (1:13) Secret lab (3:47) My Butterfly (1:15) Still Here (4:04) Round and around (4:01) What Mango? (3:21) Find the pick (1:36) Danish uber-session musician Steen Grøntved’s debut solo CD entitled “Night Vision Goggles” is a mix of rock, fusion, solo acoustic guitar and light jazz. Steen’s impressive mastery of the guitar is evident through these 12 varied cuts. He is able to shift his style easily and fluidly within the context of the piece, not only from track to track. This is evident right off the bat with the song “Timber”; starting off in a hard rock format then abruptly changing to a total fusion feel, then back again to the rock. “The Worm”, the 2nd track on the cd, as well as Secret Lab (the 7th) were created with the recording software Cubase and it’s ability to basically draw and program instruments without having a midi keyboard. These two experimental songs are decent but I’d prefer to hear some more guitar work from such a talented player, especially on his debut album. The CD continues varying styles from the Latin influenced “Playground” and the driving “Run” to the melancholy solo guitar piece “Bye”. “Round and Around” shows off his crystalline jazz technique; his wonderful interplay with the bass and fantastic guitar solos. This song also allows all members to shine and show off their instrumental prowess make this song my favorite from the CD. While Steen impresses with his technique the album overall has a very generic and bland feel. I don’t find myself remembering much from the CD after I’ve finished listening to it. There are some solid melodies and terrific solos, not to mention tremendous overall musical performances but the songs get lost in the technique. I do appreciate that Steen was trying to tie all these separate genres into one cohesive package. His playing indeed allows him the freedom to take on these styles but unfortunately it just falls short. Musicians: Steen Grøntved: Guitar, Guitarsynths., arr/compositions, key prg. Josef Aarskov: Drums, Vocals on ”Still here” Nikolaj Storr: Bass Kim Adrian: Percussion Lars Ringgaard: Blues harp on ”What mango?”