Tony MacAlpine
b. 29 August 1960. Initially trained as a pianist, MacAlpine graduated to the electric guitar with an ambition to fuse rock and classical influences into a musical form that would have widespread appeal. Teaming up with Steve Smith (drums, ex-Journey) and Billy Sheehan (bass, ex-David Lee Roth), he recorded 1985's Edge Of Insanity, which featured a set of classical/jazz/rock fusion instrumental numbers. The album was characterized by MacAlpine's ability to improvise and imbue feeling and emotion into songs, even at breakneck speed. He experimented with the idea of forming a straightforward rock band as a consequence, and signed up Tommy Aldridge (drums), Rudi Sarzo (bass) and Robert Rock (vocals) to record Project Driver under the M.A.R.S. alias, but the result was a disappointing Rainbow-style collection of hard rock numbers. The band split soon after the release and MacAlpine returned to solo status, forming his own Squawk label. He released another all-instrumental album but it was readily apparent, not least to the artist, that he had taken this particular format as far as it could go. On 1990's Eyes Of The World, released on Vertigo Records, he added Alan Schorn on lead vocals, Mark Robertson (keyboards), Billy Carmassi (drums) and Mike Jacques (drums) to form MacAlpine, the band, specializing in highly polished melodic rock, punctuated by fluid but economical guitar breaks.
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Albums
- (1994) Maximum Security
Top Tracks
- Tears Of Sahara
- Hundreds Of Thousands
- Sacred Wonder
- The King's Cup
- Autumn Lords
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