Contrary to the various ”talent” shows one might catch a glimpse of while channel surfing, the Guitar Idol 2008 contest was not a local but a global search for talent. Almost 1,000 contestants from every corner of the world signed up to be evaluated and rated by guitar fans who voted for their favourites online. Half a million people voted and thus contributed to boiling down the talents to a mere 12 who performed live in the summer of 2008. The Guitar Idol 2008 album contains the tracks performed by these artists plus additional tracks by a few guitarists who almost, but not quite, made it to the final.

I will readily admit that I am a great fan of electric guitar wizards such as Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Porty, Neil Zaza and the like and I was therefore most pleased to see this CD land in my lap. There is no doubt that the vast majority of these skilled guitarists will be releasing a full solo album in the very near future as they are by no means mere amateurs but full-fledged string benders. Their styles are varied, ranging from pure shredding to neoclassical speed picking and arpeggios, from Latin oriented rhythms to cool jazzy licks, from blues to rock – a variation that keeps me as a listener attentive and on my toes instead of getting bored with the monotony of a single, unimaginative shredder.

My main grudge here befalls the runner up for the title: Lyle Watt. He is, in the words of the record company, a 15 year old “wunderkind”, and that may very well be, but he is by far the least accomplished of the lot. His production sound is horrible, he is playing a dull blues jam over a backing track, and his compositional skills are close to non-existent. Sure, he’s only 15 and plays a hell of a lot better than most other kids his age, but I cannot for the life of me understand how he even made it to the top 12. In my opinion he is just another example of the Christopher Paolini syndrome where budding talent is mistaken for actual quality.

Having said that, however, I will not hesitate to recommend this compilation to anyone who enjoys instrumental guitar playing. Nothing revolutionary here, but plenty of fun.

Stand out tracks include: “Na Veia”, “Guitar Sbrego”, “Junk Medley”, “Identity Crisis” and “Second Floor”.