Open Fire Scottsboro AL

Open Fire

Ronnie Montrose

Warner Brothers Records, 1978

http://www.ronniemontrose.com

REVIEW BY: Jason Warburg

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 02/03/1998

The worst thing I can say about guitarist Ronnie Montrose'smoody, inventive 1978 solo debut is that it's too damn short. Atjust under 36 minutes, Open Fire invariably leaves me wanting more.

Fresh from the second of three incarnations he's attempted ofthe Zeppelin-ish rock band bearing his last name (the first timearound in '73-'74 having been Sammy Hagar's big break), Ronnie wentinto the studio to make Open Fire with former Montrose players Jim Alcivar and AlanFitzgerald in tow and old pal Edgar Winter in the producer's chair.(Montrose himself had his own big break on Winter's huge They Only Come Out At Night album.) Stepping completelyoutside of the hard-rock formula he'd been locked into up to thatpoint, Montrose created in Open Fire one of the truly memorable instrumental albums inrock history.

A lot of talented guitar players have tried and failed to makeall-instrumental albums that sustain the listener's interest allthe way through. I inevitably groove hard to two or three tracks onevery Joe Satriani and Eric Johnson album -- but the rest usuallyfeels like a waste of my time and their considerable talent. Eventhe likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan conceded he needed some words to gowith those awe-inspiring solos.

Montrose succeeded where so many have failed by defyingexpectations from start to finish, and doing it with as muchsubtlety as flash. After five years spent seemingly begging to becompared with Jimmy Page, playing virtually nothing but huge,pounding, angular riffs, Montrose opened his solo debut with an orchestral piece.