Reviews:
Guitar Mania
“Music creativity just got a kick in the ass – his name is Rob Sbar.
“this superb first release from one of the world’s truly creative musical innovators.”
“Rob has been showcasing his mind blowing chops and compositional genius since the tender age of 16”
“a diverse arsenal of guitar techniques and compositional skills that put him at the forefront of today’s best fusion virtuosos.”
“a guitarist of truly frightening skill.”
“This is extremely mature music played flawlessly with spirit and emotion oozing from every note.”
“Imagine Frank Zappa’s mind combined with Allan Holdsworth’s guitar skill and you start to get the picture of what you are in for.”
“His timing, emotional delivery and high virtuosity combine to make all of the tracks on Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs true guitar masterpieces.”
“Rob Sbar is one of the most unusual guitar instrumental composers ever to grace our presence. Not since Vai or Gambale has there been such extraordinary sounds produced from the electric guitar.”
“All the compositions found throughout Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs are written with a carefree spirit that takes the listener on an unbelievable journey into – uniqueness.”
“Never one to repeat himself – Sbar seems to be able to pull mind numbing sequences and runs out of no where all the while keeping the main theme structure of each song flowing along like a well oiled gear.”
“Sbar seems keen on keeping the listener a little off center – he commands you to pay attention as he weaves his way through compositions with plenty of twists and turns.”
“This entire CD should send out a shock wave of epic proportions to all musician/guitarists worldwide. Rob Sbar has transcended from somewhere not of this earth delivering one eclectic mix of beautifully strange and enjoyable tunes – a masterpiece of originality and technical prowess!”
- Mike Sandomirsky, 5/5 Guitar Picks “CD of the Month”
Sea of Tranquility
“Holding a graduate degree in music composition from Rutgers University, and having studied with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Charles Wuorinen are not what make guitarist & composer Rob Sbar so impressive. These efforts may have honed his technical skills, but no amount of education could have given him the energy and passion that he demonstrates on Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs, the first CD release from The Rob Sbar Noesis.”
“intensely cerebral, and visual beyond expectation.”
“Sbar both gently massages, and emphatically attacks the guitar strings with the talent of guitar greats like Greg Howe and Steve Vai, creating a theatre of imagery that reveals new dynamic and subtlety with each listen.”
“Nine tracks of dynamic instrumental composition fill this CD with complex musical experimentation that will keep your eyes, as well as your ears, open.”
- Greg Stewart, Score: 5 Stars
PROGNOSIS: Progressive Rock & Fusion
“Musically speaking, The Rob Sbar Noesis is something you really have not heard before.”
“his purposes as a musician aligns with his vision for art and philosophy, and the typecasts are soon rendered useless, as he dabs inkblots over pastels, and creates intransigent compositions that are exclusively his own.”
“Imagine Zappa having actually learned modern fretwork techniques from his one time kid stunt guitarist Stevie Vai, and creating a guitar driven cd of instrumental musics inspired by Beefheart.”
“This cd ventures far beyond the stigmas attached to virtuoso electric guitarists', so much so, that it really has little in common with the cluster of fretboard gymnasts that are being stamped out of the GIT factories everywhere. Rob Sbar, has much more depth of thought than to fall into such a convenient trap, his affinity for a sinister-minded creative approach makes this CD a very enjoyable piece for your aural, visual, and cerebral pleasure.”
- MJ Brady
eSpudd
“ … Rob Sbar takes the notion of the guitar instrumental album and creatively covers new ground.”
“Rob Sbar is able to tell stories that only our subconscious can hear and understand.”
“In the end, it is easy to say that Rob Sbar offers up a very smart, smarmy, and intellectual album with Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs.”
“ … this is one album that works on all levels and is quite enjoyable.”
- Jayson Murray
Nucleus
“… one of the most talented guitarists arisen in the last years in the United States, we are speaking of Rob Sbar.”
- Sergio Vilar
Quintessence Metal Webzine
“[Rob] explodes on this CD and seems he has unrelenting control of his axe.”
- Wayne Klinger
Prog 4 You
“The music offered here defies easy categorization, which I think is a great thing“The nine instrumental compositions that constitute the album are all smart, creative and really top notch”
“This is really killer jazz/prog fusion...”
“Want a break from brain junkfood and box office poison? Check out this album. It's really worth it...”
- Luis Nasser, Rating: 9 keyboards.
Music In Belgium
“Conclusion: Un disque très cérébral”
- Jean-Pierre Lhoir
English Translation:
Conclusion: A very cerebral CD
- Jean-Pierre Lhoir
20th Century Guitar
“Sbar’s deft guitar pyrotechnics are expertly balanced in the studio … Not only is Sbar a gifted guitar virtuoso but he is also a wonderful storyteller who wrote a series of extensive, freewheeling dissertations in the 15 page booklet while he also designed the ultra bizarre CD cover art.”
“A masterful electric guitarist, music teacher, arranger and composer who’s equally versed in jazz, avant-garde and hard rock, Sbar is off to a wonderful start on his kinetic debut CD.”
- Robert Silverstein
Progresiva 70s
“Las composiciones son intensas, con una base muy marcada y dinámica, abundando los cambios rítmicos muchas veces inesperados, sorprendentes. Hay algunos temas reposados donde saben mostrar su amplio espectro interpretativo cuidando las líneas melódicas si bién no pierden oportunidad de incluir entre ellas pasajes de mayor vigor.”
- Humberto Luna Tirado (Black Moon)
English Translation:
The compositions are intense with a marked and dynamic base of rhythmical changes, which are at many times unexpected and surprising. There are some marked contrasts and dynamics in which they show their great interpretive spectrum, taking care of the melody lines without losing the opportunity of including passages of great vigor.
- Humberto Luna Tirado (Black Moon)
Koid ‘9 … Le Bouche à Oreille n°44
Il est devenu rare de trouver des musiciens vraiment novateurs, c’est pourtant le cas de Rob Sbar. Ce guitariste New Yorkais, véritable virtuose, a développé un style unique.”
“Sbar joue plus vite que son ombre et fait passer Yngwie J. Malmsteen pour un débutant! “
- Denis “RIO” Perrot
English Translation:
It has been rare to find truly innovative musicians, that is, nevertheless the case of Rob Sbar. This truly virtuoso New York guitarist has developed a unique style.
Sbar plays without a shadow of a doubt with the speed comparable to Yngwie J. Malmsteen on his first attempt.
- Denis “RIO” Perrot
ProgNaut
“The Rob Sbar Noesis is like a combination big-band jazz fusion with some stellar playing by leader/guitarist Rob Sbar.”
“A wonderful underground find…”
- Ron Fuchs
Progressor
“Everything on “Wagon Wheels & Atom Bombs” is highly original and complex – both compositionally and technically. Furthermore, most of the arrangements are here in the state of a constant and logical development, and the frequent changes of musical direction, raised to the power of eclecticism, as well as the continuous use of complex measures, are very typical for this album.”
“Effective contrasts between the amazingly virtuosi solos of electric guitar, that are often high-speed here, and those of bass and various percussion instruments (including drums, of course), is another key aspect of this highly innovative album.”
“Especially mind-blowing however, are here those compositions”
"As for the album as a whole, most of the contents of it are so original that I don't see any reasons for recalling the names of those artists whose creation would be at least partly comparable to that of Rob Sbar. However, the main merit of this album lies in Rob's outstanding compositional and arrangement capabilities."
- Vitaly Menshikov
Guitar Chef
“Frank Zappa lives and now plays jazz! Il newyorkese Rob Sbar affiancato da una sezione ritmica tour-de-force”
“Devo dire che questo disco ci fa assaporare un po’ di New York, molto cupo e grezzo, ben fatto Rob!”
- Matt Cafissi
English Translation:
Frank Zappa lives and now plays jazz! New Yorker Rob Sbar has assembled a rhythmic tour-de-force
I must say that this disc captures the taste of New York a little, very profound and unfettered. Well done Rob!
- Matt Cafissi
The Dutch Progressive Rock Page
“…this album that brings us the guitar mastery of Rob Sbar.”
“ … the music was incredible, Media Induced Paranoia so excellently captured the mood suggested by the title.”
“Drowning in a Vacuum (Of Barbed Wire Solitude) opened superbly”
“Lexical Gap was the track which had everything - great chops, varied and interesting parts from the rhythm section and fluid guitar.”
“There are no doubts in my mind that Rob is a truly gifted musician and each and every track was in itself very worthy.”
“The arrangements and compositions are meticulously written and executed making this, for me, a musicians album.”
- Bob Mulvey
EER-Music
“This aspect of the speedy guitar is reminiscent of some of Shawn Lane’s exploratory type music with Hellborg and Sipe.”
“…the advanced and progressive musical ideas that Sbar explores may be of interest to followers of progressive fusion of the abstract variety. Sbar has a very interesting style that fuses shred guitar pyrotechnics, abstract harmonization, unusual chord progressions, complex arrangements, and challenging metres that together demonstrate his capabilities with advanced guitar and progressive fusion.”
“…unique brand of abstract fusion.”
- Christopher Ruel
Splendidezine
“Sbar, a composer/visual artist/guitarist who has studied with everyone from axe-slinger and note-burner Greg Howe to Pulitzer prize-winning serial composer Charles Wuorinen, may be an enigmatic figure, but he's also an undeniably talented one.”
“The music on Wagon Wheels and Atom Bombs draws on a variety of influences. While the elaborate chord changes and fluid time shifts suggest jazz fusion as a primary reference, Sbar's guitar sound is firmly rooted in the rock/metal idiom, invoking, among others, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai and Greg Howe as touchstones. A propos of Vai, many of the compositions revel in the kind of deliberate discontinuity that Zappa's band at its best was wont to do. An avant-garde classical composer in his own right, Sbar certainly knows the Stravinsky and Varese scores from which Zappa picked up the idea of juxtaposing disparate musical sections.”
- Christian Carey
Progressive World
“We’ve heard the fusion guitar thing many times before, all by talented demi-gods of the genre, but no one plays faster than Sbar, nor more fluid.”
- RIPZ
Acid Dragon
“ ‘Noesis’ is the Greek work for intuition or thinking and both these qualities are in abundant evidence on this release.”
- Phil Jackson
Crusher Magazine
"What’s most impressive is Rob’s solid music education (bachelor’s and graduate degrees in music, thank you very much) and his intellectual and thoroughly artistic approach to his compositions. Liner notes, in lieu of nonexistent vocal lyrics, provide Sbar’s philosophical meanderings on the album and it’s structure for his listeners."
"Sbar gets it right, though, on songs like “Drowning In a Vacuum (Of Barbed Wire Solitude),” with a dichotomy that’s both challenging and creative. And a few songs, like the almost Latin tinged “Blue Harvest,” feature a full jazz orchestra recorded live in Philly."
"We girls certainly like masters of their guitars, but not those who can’t stop practicing their chords long enough to send a playful wink our way. Fortunately, Rob’s instrumentals are lighthearted, whimsical, and free yet strong, serious, and carefully composed. And that’s how a real rock chick likes her men."
- Alicia Koledin
The Guitarists
“‘Lexical Gap’ is a ferocious jazz shred attack that boggles the mind.”
“Rob is a technical assassin with sniper like accuracy.”
