Guitarist Reb Beach (Winger, Whitesnake, Black Swan) recently guested on Pat's Soundbytes Unplugged podcast to discuss his new solo instrumental album, A View From Inside. He also looks back on his 2002 solo album Masquerade, talks about Alice Cooper, Kip Winger, the 32nd Anniversary of Winger's debut album, the forthcoming Winger album, Whitesnake, David Coverdale, Joel Hoekstra, Flesh & Blood, Black Swan and more.

On the new Winger album:

"We've written 11 songs, but Kip threw away six of 'em, saying that this has to be like the first Boston record, where every song is undeniable. And he wants it to be progressive, like nothing he's heard before. We're going for something that's poppy and sing-along stuff yet cool, heavy, progressive riffs; kind of like Karma (from 2009)."

Reb Beach has released his long in the works instrumental solo album, A View From The Inside, via Frontiers Music Srl. Order A View From The Inside here, and listen to the track "Cutting Loose" below:

An album that showcases the dynamic talents of the guitar virtuoso, hard rock fans will be transported back to the days when giants like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani dominated the mainstream consciousness (and airwaves), while also simultaneously being shown a guitarist ever pushing himself forward into the future.

Reb Beach is one of the indisputable guitar giants of the current hard rock scene. His resume with ‘80s/’90s mega-stars Winger alone would earn him this distinction, but his legacy is cemented by his current membership and work with the legendary Whitesnake, his past efforts with Dokken, and his recent release with supergroup Black Swan, also featuring Jeff Pilson, Robin MacAuley, and Matt Starr.

Influenced by the legendary hard rockers of the ‘70s, Reb spent his teen years jamming along with the greats of that era like Aerosmith and Montrose, but it was when he discovered more progressive players like Steve Morse, Allan Holdsworth, and Larry Carlton that his musical world really opened up. The complexity and the speed of the more prog style of playing was a unique challenge compared to the blues-based playing of most musicians of that era. The discovery of these players was ultimately the catalyst that drove his playing to the level he is now so well known to music fans the world over for. Beach eventually graduated from his home practice space to the Berkeley School of Music, but after a couple of semesters he moved on and soon became one of the most sought-after session players in the music industry, working with such all-time great talents as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Roger Daltrey, Chaka Kahn, Howard Jones, and Twisted Sister.

While living in NYC, he hooked up with his future bandmate, bassist and frontman Kip Winger. Reb and Kip formed the band Winger and the rest is history. The two proved to be incredible writing partners, crafting multiple platinum records that featured no less than six Top Forty singles. with music that was commercial yet complex.

After Winger went on a hiatus in the ‘90s, Beach’s career continued thanks to collaborations with Alice Cooper, Dokken and Night Ranger and he debuted as a solo artist in 2002 with the album Masquerade.

Following the Winger reunion in the ‘00s, Reb heard that David Coverdale was looking for a new guitarist for Whitesnake. He reached out to him and since 2003, Reb has toured the world with the band as well as released multiple albums with them, including Good To Be Bad, Forevermore, The Purple Album, and the recent Flesh & Blood, plus a number of live albums.

Reb Beach now releases his first instrumental album, but this is not a mere exercise of self-indulgence. It is the culmination of over 30 years of study and extremely hard work on his craft. Fans of Steve Morse and Joe Satriani will find a lot to love in the 11 songs on offer here, but while there is certainly a lot of ear candy for the musician types, fans of hard rock in general will find a wealth of melodies and transcendent moments where the songs simply make you forget there are no vocals.

Tracklisting:

"Black Magic"
"Little Robots"
"Aurora Borealis"
"Infinito 1122"
"Attack Of The Massive"
"The Way Home"
"Whiplash"
"Hawkdance"
"Cutting Loose"
"Sea Of Tranquility"

"Aurora Borealis":

"Infinito 1122" video:

Lineup:

Reb Beach - guitars, bass on 4, 9, keyboards on 4, 6, 11, strings on 10
David Throckmorton - drums (except on 6)
Robert Langley - drums on 6
Michele Luppi - piano on 3, 10
Phillip Bynoe - bass on 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 11
John Hall - bass on 5, 6, 7
Paul Brown - keyboards on 1, 2, 5, 7