Summary
Powers of Ten is the first studio album by guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 1992 through 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]
| Powers of Ten | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1992 | |||
| Studio | Apogee Studio, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Instrumental rock, jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 60:16 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Shawn Lane | |||
| Shawn Lane chronology | ||||
| ||||
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| 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 edit
All music is composed by Shawn Lane, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 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 edit
- Shawn Lane – guitar, 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 edit
- ^ a b c Gioffre, Daniel. "Powers of Ten - Shawn Lane". AllMusic. RhythmOne. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Obrecht, Jas. "Shawn Lane: A Cult Hero Surfaces". Guitar Player Distortion!. NewBay Media. p. 112.