While My Guitar Violently Bleeds

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While My Guitar Violently Bleeds album cover
Album Information

Total Tracks: 3   Total Length: 43:12

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PAINFUL!!!!

ohleollei

If these songs were a few minutes long, maybe it would be tolerable. But anything that's 25+ minutes of repeating sounds just becomes irritatingly annoying.

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Brahoo!

EMUSIC-008162F1

If you like this, check out Six Organs of Admittance, particularly For Octavio Paz. You will probably definitely enjoy it.

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STUNNING!

Swoppy

I first heard about Sir Richard at Boomkat, but didn't immediately delve into his music. Browsing around here at eMusic I see him again and decide to check out WMGVB. Simply put it absolutely blew away my expectations. Being a bassist at heart I don't ever even listen to solo guitar. But this album changes that, I think. A stunning, Indian raga infused display of musical other-worldliness. If you have adventurous taste buds, and even a passing fondness for either Indian or solo guitar music (or both), you will not be disappointed. I especially like the huge stylistic variety between the electric second track, which is so heavy it makes Sunn O))) sound like new age, and the acoustic third track which is totally in line with the masters of Indian raga. Bravo!

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They Say All Music Guide

While My Guitar Violently Bleeds is a good album title, but it’s not exactly appropriate for Sir Richard Bishop’s music. Bishop is no Keiji Haino-style guitar terrorist, nor even a particular fan of feedback and odd harmonics in the manner of Sonic Youth. It’s difficult to discuss Bishop’s solo instrumental albums without immediately invoking the names of John Fahey and Robbie Basho; on this set of three extended pieces, comparisons can also be made to 1960s-vintage practitioners of early forms of world fusion, such as Peter Walker’s 1966 gem Rainy Day Raga (most especially on the increasingly frenetic opener, “Zurvan”) and Hamza El Din’s “The Water Wheel,” a 1968 solo performance on the oud that was an early mainstay of the Nonesuch Explorer series. The placid, hypnotic 25-minute epic “Mahavidya” is one of Bishop’s finest extended pieces, building slowly into a cyclical web of drones and flat-picked tunes that borrow from a globe’s worth of folk forms. In between the two acoustic songs, the 11-minute electric workout “Smashana” maintains the explorative, folk-rooted feel in a noisier context, without devolving into the usual feedback buzz. A welcome example of Bishop’s instrumental skills in a more expansive style than usual, While My Guitar Violently Bleeds is among the celebrated guitarist’s finest releases, and a highly recommended first stop for fans of the old guard of experimental folk guitarists who wish to branch out from their Sandy Bull albums. – Stewart Mason

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