Powers of Ten (album)

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Powers of Ten
Warner Bros.
ProducerShawn Lane
Shawn Lane chronology
Powers of Ten
(1992)
The Tri-Tone Fascination
(1999)

Powers of Ten is the first studio album by guitarist

Warner Bros. Records.[1] A second edition was reissued in 1993, with a revised track listing and alternate versions of "Get You Back" and "West Side Boogie" (both of which were included as bonus tracks on the 2006 reissue through Eye Reckon Records). In a 2009 article by Guitar World magazine, Powers of Ten was ranked seventh on the all-time top ten list of shred albums.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Jas Obrecht at Guitar Player praised Powers of Ten as "a solo album in the truest sense. ... The immaculate articulations of 'Gray Pianos Flying' will awe shred-heads, while 'Epilogue (for Lisa)' ... displays the guitarist's more tender side."[3]

Daniel Gioffre at AllMusic called the album "uneven and frustrating". Among his criticisms were the lack of a full band (Lane performed all the instruments himself on most tracks), the "egregious misstep" of using programmed drums, and the "long and meandering" keyboard pieces "Powers of Ten: Suite" and "Piano Concertino: Transformation of Themes"; the latter tracks he noted as interrupting the momentum established in the album's first half. He nonetheless called most of the songs "pleasant enough" and praised Lane as a "phenomenally talented" guitarist and musician.[1]

Track listing

All music is composed by Shawn Lane, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Not Again"3:53
2."Illusions"4:19
3."Get You Back"4:57
4."West Side Boogie" (Ray Gomez)5:31
5."Powers of Ten: Suite"13:05
6."Piano Concertino: Transformation of Themes"9:07
7."Paris"5:47
8."Esperanto"3:39
9."Rules of the Game"3:59
10."Gray Pianos Flying"3:10
11."Epilogue (For Lisa)"2:49
Total length:60:16
2006 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Tri-Heaven"3:52
13."Get You Back" (alternate version)4:42
14."West Side Boogie" (alternate version)4:40
Total length:73:30

Personnel

  • Shawn Laneguitar, keyboard, drum programming (except tracks 13, 14), bass (except tracks 13, 14), arrangement, engineering, mixing, production
  • Sean Rickman – drums (tracks 13, 14)
  • Barry Bays – bass (tracks 13, 14)
  • Bil VornDick – mixing (tracks 2, 4, 8, 11)
  • Linel – mixing assistance
  • Andy Johns – engineering (tracks 12–14), mixing (tracks 12–14), production (tracks 13, 14)
  • Richard Landers – engineering assistance (tracks 12–14), mixing assistance (tracks 12–14)
  • Rail Rogut – engineering, mixing,
    digital editing
    (tracks 12–14)
  • Bruce Dees – digital editing (tracks 1–11)
  • Michael Patterson – digital editing (tracks 1–11)
  • Denny Purcell – mastering (tracks 1–11)
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering (tracks 12–14)

References

  1. ^ a b c Gioffre, Daniel. "Powers of Ten - Shawn Lane". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Guitar World Staff (2009-07-09). "Top 10 Shred Albums of All Time". Guitar World. Future US. Archived from the original on May 28, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Obrecht, Jas. "Shawn Lane: A Cult Hero Surfaces". Guitar Player Distortion!. NewBay Media. p. 112.