The Raspberry Jams

Jason Becker has had a time of it alright. Playing opposite Marty Friedman, being David Lee Roth's guitarist, getting Lou Gehrig's disease, becoming unable to move or speak, then just continuing to play music anyway, he's had a strange ride. The Raspberry Jams is a collection of jams that probably cover a fairly large time period, some of which may have been in Becker's youth, none of which are full songs, but just a collection of ideas and demos that showcase both the guitarist's talent and his eclectic spirit of composition.

The range on this compilation is quite surprising. We get some of the expected shreddy metal, riffs and licks flowing out from 'If You Have to Shoot...Shoot - Don't Talk' like Zakk Wylde at the beginning of his Ozzy era, while other styles include some old school jazz and country, as well as softer material. Really, you can tell what kind of form each of the 25 pieces are in by looking at the track lengths, 'If You Have to Shoot' and 'Thousand Million Suns' running to five minutes, while about half the compositions sound like the rough idea for a song. The others may either be just a riff or mood piece or solo, some of which are recorded quite roughly, such as 'Purple Chewable Fern' sounding like two guitar solos happening simultaneously because...well, there are two solos playing together, but also no discernible rhythm instruments. With The Raspberry Jams, you definitely know you're listening to a compilation.

I suppose that this is more something you would get into out of interest for Jason Becker than due to the musical qualities of the release. Obviously, there's evidence here of him being a great guitarist, 'Becker-Ola' proving that as the first track, while wild solos like 'Amarnath' pay testament to a man at the cutting edge of his profession in the late '80s. Some of the ideas are mighty hard to play, the "rolling marble" bass of 'Grilled Peeps' coming close to the work of another virtuoso - my man Buckethead - while the shred is something to be proud of even in demo form. Of note to those who followed Becker's career is a jam with Marty Friedman called 'Black Stallion Jam', though the coolness and quietness of the piece refers more to their individual solo careers than anything Cacophony produced while together. Some of the cuts are too far from finished to fully justify their inclusion, such as 'Beetle Grubs', which is just very brief flashes of different ideas pasted rapidly one after the other.

As a result, it would be unnecessary to think too harshly of The Raspberry Jams, since this is clearly not meant to be a coherent album, satisfying those interested in Becker himself and giving a rare insight into the unpolished creative mind. For most of us, though, there's not really much to maintain interest in these compositions after a cursory listen, so know what you're getting into before listening - this is just raw ideas. If you happen to like this and want more, The Blackberry Jams provided an even longer version of the same thing.