Centrifugal Funk
Centrifugal Funk is the second and final studio album by the Mark Varney Project (MVP), released in 1991 through Legato Records; a remastered edition was reissued in 2004 through Tone Center Records.[1] This line-up of the group features guitarists Frank Gambale, Brett Garsed and Shawn Lane.[2] The album consists primarily of covers of existing jazz fusion compositions, save for one track performed by Lane—"Lane's Blitz"—which he later dismissed as an impromptu warm-up rather than a planned solo, and thus his dislike for it.[3] Varney has disputed Lane's version of events,[2] but the track was omitted on the remaster.
| Centrifugal Funk | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by The Mark Varney Project | ||||
| Released | 1991 | |||
| Studio | Front Page Recorders, Costa Mesa, California; Kiva Recording, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 61:18 | |||
| Label | Legato | |||
| Producer | Mark Varney, Jimmy Earl | |||
| The Mark Varney Project chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
.jpg.webp) French edition | ||||
The cover art on the original release features a tongue-in-cheek disclaimer to listeners: "Warning: Contains guitar performances of unparalleled speed, taste and virtuosity. Not for the faint of heart!", while the back cover has an invitation from Varney asking fans to send in demo tapes of potential guitarists for his label, in return for a named mention within the credits on a future album, as well as five Legato releases mailed to them for free.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Robert Taylor at AllMusic rated Centrifugal Funk three stars out of five, calling it "an exhausting listen" and the songs "fairly weak". Praise was given to the individual talents of Gambale, Garsed and Lane, while criticism was directed at drummer Joey Heredia. "Hey Tee Bone" and "Love Struck" were listed as highlights.[1]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Actual Proof" | Herbie Hancock | 7:38 |
| 2. | "So What" | Miles Davis | 9:44 |
| 3. | "Hey Tee Bone" | Tony Fisher, Timothius Davis | 5:33 |
| 4. | "Tokyo Blue" | Najee, Morris Pleasure | 7:20 |
| 5. | "Splatch" | Miles Davis | 11:59 |
| 6. | "Elegant People" | Wayne Shorter | 9:59 |
| 7. | "Lane's Blitz[nb 1]" | Shawn Lane | 0:36 |
| 8. | "Lovestruck" | Jesse Johnson | 8:29 |
| Total length: | 61:18 | ||
Personnel
- Frank Gambale – guitar (except track 7)
- Brett Garsed – guitar (tracks 2, 3, 8)
- Shawn Lane – guitar (tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 8)
- Mike O'Neill – guitar (except track 7)
- T.J. Helmerich – guitar (track 8), remastering (reissue)
- Freddy Ravel – keyboard
- Joey Heredia – drums
- Kevin Ricard – percussion
- Jimmy Earl – bass, arrangement, production
- Steve Tavaglione – saxophone, EWI
- Alan Hirshberg – engineering, mixing, mastering
- Mark Varney – musical concept, executive production
Notes
- Not present on the 2004 remaster.
References
- Taylor, Robert. "Centrifugal Funk - MVP". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- Monk, Laurie (2010-06-13). "Mark Varney: Legato interview with Laurie Monk". Truth In Shredding. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
- Hallebeek, Richard (March–April 2001). "Shawn Lane + lesson" Archived 2017-04-07 at the Wayback Machine. richardhallebeek.com. Retrieved 2015-07-08.
External links
- In Review: MVP "Centrifugal Funk" at Guitar Nine Records