See What I See

Description

See What I See is the sophomore album by the American progressive rock trio Fourth Estate, released on Hapi Skratch in November 1995, in co-operation with Liquid Disc. Guitar Magazine stated that “like Jimmy Page, Brian May, and Tom Scholtz, Dave Beegle is a one-man guitar army – a very clever player,” while Guitar World wrote that the amazing three-part “Kara Kum” is “a gyrating, mutating, Arabic-metal, prog-rock showstopper.”

Fourth Estate, formed in 1987, features guitarist Dave Beegle and a rhythm section consisting of bassist Fred Babich and drummer Dave Spurr (the latter formerly of Tamarack). The band’s debut album, Finesse & Fury, was released in 1992, See What I See followed in 1995, and in 2002 the band released Dustbuster Demos, an album consisting of recordings from 1987 and on.

Fourth Estate, hailing from Denver, Co., unites Dave Beegle (guitar), Fred Babich (bass) and Dave Spurr (drums). For those who love technical proficiency, Fourth Estate is a dream band. A review of Fourth Estate could easily talk about the “transperformance automatic self-tuning guitar” technology that Beegle utilizes. It could consider the extremely diverse styles and techniques that Babich has mastered or Spurr as the glue that holds these two wonderfully gifted musicians together. But that would be to miss the point.

On See What I See all the above points are illustrated. But unlike some other technically gifted and/or superior musicians, the quality that sets Fourth Estate members apart is that they obviously have the music in their heart. The songs are at once adventurous and accessible. See What I See leans more into the guitar rock vein that the 1992 release, Finesse and Fury, did with songs that are melodic and focused – not just vehicles that lend themselves to long instrumental jams. And while the band does step and showcase individual abilities, it also works remarkably well as a unit, a benefit undoubtedly coming from the nearly nine years Beegle and Babich have played together, This yields a very organic sound that only comes when musicians fit like a blueprinted engine.

See What I See does span a gamut of musical styles. There are the more sonically impressionistic pieces like «Taste of Heaven» to the more complex and progressive song structures of pieces like the three part «Kara Kum» to the metal-influenced «Poets Lament». The project also expands Fourth Estate’s exploration of various ethnic modes and strucutures, not the least of which are the Russian and Arabic musical themes found in songs like «Crazy Ivan» and «Kara Kum».

Fourth Estate shows great talent on See What I See. They are only limited by the size of the market for instrumental music. The project is a wonderfully diverse and engaging listening experience. While this band will pull in the traditional guitar hero audience, be aware that there is much, much more here than musical pyrotechnics. [Devlin Donaldson, CCM, July 1996]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/see-what-i-see/58609867)

CD tracklist:

01. From Here To There – 4:23
02. Poet’s Lament – 4:56
03. See What I See – 5:28
04. Primal Roots – 1:16
05. The Hammer Song – 4:51
06. Blue Flame – 6:54
07. Crazy Ivan – 5:50
08. Dadgad – 5:52
09. Taste Of Heaven – 5:59
10. Kara Kūm, Part 1: Mirage – 1:33
11. Kara Kūm, Part 2: Ten Days Lost In The Sun – 1:36
12. Kara Kūm, Part 3: Shadow Of The Dune – 5:38

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Liquid Disc. Available at Bandcamp: https://davebeegle.bandcamp.com/album/see-what-i-see-fourth-estate