Andy Summers' debut solo album is nowhere near as bad or as terrible as critics have made it out to be. On its own merits, it is quite enjoyable and fun to listen to.
Naturally, Summers' guitar playing is excellent as always. The only problem here is that rather than being the proper focus of the album, Summers' incomparable guitar work is subservient to the vocal-based songs.As a singer, Summers is not at all awful. He actually has a fine, serviceable voice that is well suited to the machine-like monotony of the music.
While most of the songs have a drone-like quality to them that is eerily hypnotic and entrancing, "Nowhere" breaks out of this mold with an engaging, infectious vitality bolstered by gospel-type female backup singers and Summers' most organic and uninhibited guitar solo on the record.
If this is not among Summers' top-tier solo efforts, it is only because it is overshadowed by his far more excellent instrumental albums, which obviously showcase his real, ultimate asset -- that of a highly accomplished and versatile guitarist.
To see how far Summers has come as a songwriter, check out his 2012 Brazilian/English-language bossa nova pop album Fundamental, with Fernanda Takai on vocals. Also of interest is Circus Hero (2014) by Summers' short-lived band Circa Zero, which features multi-instrumentalist Rob Giles on bass and vocals and marked Summers' brief return to rock songwriting.
Since I was 14 years old at the time XYZ was released, I obviously could not drive. So I had to ride my bicycle into the next town to get the album on cassette tape.
That was one bicycle trip that was well worth it.
--Raj Manoharan
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