ROB MCDADE

Artist's Website
Contact Artist
Southern Australia

Available CDs

Warranties and Disclaimers

"Guitarist, producer and all-rounder Rob McDade has produced his own little (and I use that term lightly) ode to the wondrous guitar on Earthrock. An album that is strictly a collection of instrumental guitar rock, it is used as a medium to take you through the life of a guitar and the life it breathes through Rob. The results may be of limited appeal, but fans of progressive guitar sounds should find something a genuine interest here.

There’s quite a range on offer; from the distorted country sounds of Wildwood Hillbilly Thrash to the funkified Funk Face, psychedelic prog rock tracks Take It Away, Los Robos and Wildsnake, and the subdued sounds of Otherworld and Wildwood Acoustic, ending with the bluesy Rob’s Blues. One key highlight is the 10-minute epic Dinosaur; an eerily dark soundscape that gains momentum as it goes along, escalating toward a furore and utilising an awesome riff.

Few genres of music go untapped on this release, so extra kudos to Rob since he’s the sole musician, playing everything from electric guitar, acoustic guitar, classical guitar, electric bass, drum machines, keyboards and samples. This 14-track CD is a recommended piece of listening to all fans of guitar." - Penni Pappas, Rip It Up Magazine (#718, 2003)

Reviews coming soon...

"From Australia comes guitarist Rob McDade's "Terrafirma", with slightly creepy closeups of a dingo (or maybe just a dog...Oz is a mystery) in the artwork. The first piece, "Water Music 1", is a simply gorgeous bit of solo guitar looping, simple in scope but very enjoyable. Part of the fun of this disc is that there's nothing which even remotely resembles this again until the very end, with (of course) "Water Music 2", which is the same loop extended, pleasingly.

In between is a jumbled crockpot of styles and concepts. Rob is a highly skilled steel-string player with excellent technique; I'd imagine that he could nail traditional Celtic and folk stuff all day without even trying. Instead of simply settling into that well-traveled groove, however, he really pushes against the common boundaries of song styles. The very second piece, the amusingly titled "Dickhead in a G string", is a nine-minute suite that covers nearly all the bases between ambient abstractions to heavy rock (see my earlier review). It's pretty nuts, but wholly listenable (and probably one of my favorites on the disc for its grand ambition and a few truly delicious bits).

After the lengthy and ambitious journey of "G String", things settle down into familiar territory for the next two tracks, which showcase a bit of Michael Hedges influence in the open tuning, right-hand slapping and heavy use of octave harmonics, and again his capable chops. Then comes something else totally unexpected, an arrow-straight rendition of Pink Floyd's "Pigs on the Wing", with vocals that duplicate the phrasing of the original (rather nicely). This isn't a common cover, and it's well-done, but again, a funny thing to appear in the middle of the album.

Next are a couple more tunes that hew closer to familiar territory, then there's a heavily chromatic slide tune called "Mudflat Blues" that almost reminds me of Camper Van Beethoven. Psychedelic and cockeyed, it's a pleaser and over too soon.

Perhaps I'm seeing a pattern now, as the following two pieces again hit some familiar notes, with "Blue Moon Territory" being especially heartfelt. And yes, after these two comes something different, the three-chord jamfest of "All Washed Up". This takes a deep plunge into the classic rockisms hinted at in "G String", and I have to say, it is so completely immersed there that I'm tempted to believe there's meant to be humor behind it (which the title suggests). It goes on a long, long, LONG time, with bluesy soloing overtop those same three chords, well-done but so indulgent in comparison to the tasteful and economical nature of all the tunes (besides "G String", which is tasteful though completely over the top) that it's borderline disturbing. That fact that it leads directly into "Water Music 2" makes it seem even more excessive, which could easily be his whole point. McCade keeps one guessing and is always capable of the tangents he takes; I especially like the edges and look forward to seeing where he goes next.

This, truly, is a musical trip, nine minutes long and needing that time, it seems, to tell its story. It somehow hangs together, even when running from Celtic fingerpicking to full-on Chevy Nova/2112/roach clip classic rock riffing, albeit still acoustic (and that, albeit with wah-wah and stoner crunch). There's definitely a narrative going on here, especially in the jarring changes like the moment two minutes in when the heavy-duty steel-string workout gives way to a very distant sirenlike slide, abetted by delicate filigreed harmonics. This turns into a beautiful meditation with a light Abercrombie-like melody that lasts just a minute before ushering in the fuzztone and a whole lot of melodrama. It's pocket-sized stadium-rock, turning on a dime from Skyrnd-worthy axeslinging to pensive echoes of the earlier, subtler textures. At seven minutes is the payoff, a feedback-drenched power chord glory stomp, clearing the gates for a wiggly-toned clean electric that manages to refer to almost everything preceding it, leaving you back at your door with a modest little handshake at the end." - Mute Reactionary

"Rob McDade is known around Adelaide as an acoustic / ambient music performer, and his third release ‘TERRAFIRMA’ showcases Rob’s ability in this genre. Rob also recently featured at the Adelaide International Guitar Festival, and has performed at the Adelaide Festival Theatre. Drawing from Acoustic, Folk and Progressive Rock influences, this is an interesting, well recorded album, however does take a broad attention span to listen to.

This isn’t a bad thing by any means, (I ADORE instrumental music, from Steve Vai (god) to John Williams (Imperial March, anyone?), but for the mainstream listener giving consideration to an instrumental album containing 15 tracks (12 listed and 3 bonus) with only one track featuring vocals (albeit a cover of Pink Floyd’s ‘Pigs on the Wing, Parts 1 & 2’ – Track 5) is a big ask.

Following on from earlier releases ‘EARTHROCK’ (2002) and ‘TOUCHED BY THE SUN’ (2003), Rob showcases his maturing songwriting talents on ‘TERRAFIRMA’, with a good use of effects, loops and samples. Proceedings commence nicely with ‘Water Music 1’, a fine example of layering on several levels, before cutting into ‘Dickhead in a G String’, which fuses Pink Floyd with Joe Satriani (and MANY other influences). A great composition with some nice ideas, but unfortunately at a tad over NINE minutes in length the overall lack of diversity and feeling of repetition let the ambitious opus down. Better arrangement and less repetition could have worked here (shortening and tightening up of this track, or introducing more variance, would have been of definite benefit).

Some highlights are Track 6 ‘Song for Nicky’ (it’s just right), and for excellent chord progressions and some tasty slide work you can’t go past Track 8 ‘Mudflat Blues’, one of the better offerings on this album.

There is an overall repetition and some quite transparent influences which caught my attention on this recording (Track 4 “Something Green” could have been on Led Zeppelin IV (ZOSO), and there’s A LOT of Pink Floyd / Dave Gilmour, and Jimmy Page in here to name a couple...While not intending to be negative (it’s a GOOD CD - acoustic / ambient recording and writing is not easy, especially for a solo writer / performer), indeed the recording overall shows Rob McDade to possess high musical ability, and is quite introspective; however in this genre one needs to produce something quite unique and special to stand out.

Ultimately, ‘TERRAFIRMA’ misses the mark it intends to hit (and it is a very high bar for this segment of the industry), however with some shorter arrangements and more variances in acoustic sounds could have been a winner.

However, given the extremely minimal number of releases in this segment, ‘TERRAFIRMA’ is definitely worth a listen if Ambient / Progressive Rock is your bag. Give it a spin and draw your own conclusions." - Stu Wright, MusicSA

"

My banjo playing friend from Gold Rush Mark was there, a rather attractive celtic lady with flowing brunette hair who played electic violin was present and my good friend Phil Emmanuel was there. There was actually a lot of people there and too many to remember actually ... the
lady who captured my attention only captured my attention was because I was a young frisky male and she was a knock-out plus the way she made her instrument sing ..well ...

At the time, I never heard Tommy (Phil's brother) ever play and had no idea then, how much of a musical genius he was. In truth, I never heard the guys ever play together. Phil was an impressive and talented musician himself. The impontuen jam session that occurred that weekend by many different musicians (many of who never played before) was amazing. The one I joined in on with Tommy, Phil, Mark, the Goddess of the Violin, and a drummer who I believed played with Lobby Lyodd and the Coloured Balls ...was well ...mind bending ... I remember feeling years after that they just don't play music like that anymore ...

Vibrant, Energetic, Soul stirring ... and a unique blend of Ozzie and Celtic and experiemental.

Tommy Emmanuel is a Genius ... you need to his his guitar instrumental and riffs to know what I am talking about ...his music stirs the Soul.

I never thought I would ever say this about another Guitarist until Now...

My NEW friend, Rob McDade who will be playing at The Druid's Dreaming Concert in Novmeber of this year, sent me his NEW CD as a gift and for me to upload some of his music to my Radio sites.

All I can say is ,,, I recommned that you purchase one of his CDs

Listen to his Brilliance ... and I feel secure now ...that if anything happened to Tommy Emmanuel that there is a TALENT like Rob McDade standing in the wings to take his Mantle of Guitar Genius.

I idea of a "Summerland" Rob McDade, David Pendragon, Tommy Emmanueal, Jamie McPherson, that beautiful violinist, Damh the Bard, Wendy Rule and my girls harmonizing as back vocals all gigging together ... throw in Gaia Consort as the opening act" - ~ The Wayfinder ~