Lee Geun-hyung's full album [Alone..Not Alone]

The first solo work of 'guitarist Lee Geun-hyeong', who is more familiar with playing than his face, is the first solo work in his music life. A

song from the debut album of the powerful heavy metal band 'Little Sky', released in 1987, with a sharp electric guitar performance and powerful riffs that were attractive [ Gotta Go] made Kim Seong-heon, a vocalist majoring in Korean traditional music, stand out even more, showing off his unique and cool singing technique. Subsequently, the lyrical arpeggio performance of [Silver Lake], which was played on various radio broadcasts and is often selected on radio these days, contributed greatly to making the band Little Sky known to more fans. Guitarist Lee Geun-hyung, already known as a master among rock musicians and those involved, was a person who received attention and praise for his most aggressive and heavy metal performance at the time. Compared to other competing bands, they had fewer broadcasting opportunities and their faces were less known, but as an example of an unprecedented example in Korea, the second album of Little Sky is a completely different band led by Lee Geun-hyung's
younger brother, Lee Geun-sang, who is also a great guitarist and composer. The album will be released in the form of Then, it was 'Charisma' that became a rare album and name in its own way, formed with Kim Jong-seo, who came out of Sinawi, and rock stars such as drummer Kim Min-gi and bassist Park Hyun-jun, to come back to Lee Geun-hyung's performance and heavy metal band activities. This band, too, could not be stable for a long time.

Guitarist Lee Geun-hyung, who has played a role as a guitarist, producer, composer, and leader of several important heavy metal bands that are indispensable in the lineage of Korean pop music, has been a producer since the 1990s. As a composer and professional session guitarist, his younger brother, Geun-sang Lee, will be active in the same direction and role as a new musician. Then, it was Shin Sung-woo's solo albums 1-3 that made his musical abilities and performances known again. The public was focusing on Shin Sung-woo's appearance and singing, but the album's rock-like charm, composition direction, arrangement, and electric guitar playing that said "As expected!~" were Lee Geun-hyung's special moves. That's how we remember Shin Sung-woo's representative songs such as [Towards Tomorrow], [Reason for Leaning on the Sunset], and [Preface] under the influence of Lee Geun-hyung.

For those who are looking for and listening to music, 'SLK' with Shin Hyun-kwon and Kim Min-ki in 2013 is also a valuable resource, but not much is known, and since 2016, they have been looking for the name of 'Little Sky' in the form of a project band, Jang Tae-woong (bass), and Jang Hyuk. (Drummer) I did music with performance masters recognized in the industry.

Lee Geun-hyung, who has long been recognized as a top-class guitar player in the Korean popular music scene, so rather than working in a band like this, we could hear his guitar playing steadily through his compositions and performances. To list only representative hit songs, Lim Jae-bum's [Confession], [For You] Lee Seung-chul's [Long Day], [Manli Flower] Brown Eyes' [Already One Year] Kim Bum-soo's [I Miss You], [End Love] Lee Eun-mi's [ I have a boyfriend] Yoon Do-hyun's [I guess I loved you], [Oh! Pilseung Korea] Kim Gun-mo's [The Moon in Seoul], [One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest] MC The Max's [Goodbye for a Moment], [Love Poetry] Rumble Fish's [Eulachacha], Glass Box's [May I Love You], Jo Sung-mo , Shin Seung-hoon, Byun Jin-seop, and Lee Mun-se, as well as ballad singers such as Turbo, Sechs Kies, Shinhwa, SES, Fin.K.L, Cool, So Chan-hui, and Ja-Ja. Lee Geun-hyung is a musician and a person who has lived as a heavenly guitarist.

There was rarely an opportunity, and sometimes I didn't have the courage for various reasons, but now a solo performance album that can stand out as "guitarist Lee Geun-hyung" by reflecting and looking back on his music life of nearly 40 years has finally come out. [Alone... Not Alone] seems to reflect the music world that Lee Geun-hyung has been walking on, and the title he came up with while planning his thoughts in the current popular music world or an extremely popular or commercial performance album is [Alone... Not Alone], which seems to have several meanings. Lee Geun-hyung, who has been watching the Korean pop music scene with various roles and participations, is now in his 50s and has an age and experience. It is the first solo work under the name of “Lee Geun-hyung” and a special album containing 10 songs in total.

In the Korean rock world, solo albums containing only instrumental songs include Bae Jae-bum, a guitarist specializing in sokju from the baroque/speed metal band Dionysus, transforming and containing fusion jazz songs, and Kim Se-hwang from Downtown/Next/Novasonic interpreting and accepting classic songs. I remember the solo albums of rock guitarist Park Chang-gon, who is also known for sessions with various singers.

Lee Geun-hyung's first solo songs, which did not use strong hard rock or heavy metal riffs, are standard and reveal Clinton's guitar tendencies, but I feel the feeling of Jeff Beck, whom I have long liked, and in some cases, guitar tendencies like Eric Johnson. Some songs are a bit modern grafting and experimentation in the progress that is not burdensome and difficult.

For reference, some of the contents and direction of the solo album, which Lee Geun-hyung himself talks about and explains, will be revealed.

“The genre I aim for can be seen as 'me'.
I want to think that my color is creative, free expression music that crosses genres and expresses everything I have been influenced by music . In order to do that, I do not neglect even a short relationship, and I am still working hard to have a great expressive power as a performer based on good experiences. Neither the explosive energy of the rock band nor the decades of studio recording musicianship were insignificant. Every day is new and learned again... Of course, recent times are no different.

I wanted to include the nuances of the legendary musicians who greatly influenced me in the album, and I wanted to imitate them. Of course, the colors are different, but...”

[The Final], which expresses sports by starting with an impressive and powerful synthesizer performance, is a rock style without the burden, and [My Blues], which, as the title suggests, shows a seasoned taste, is Lee Geun-hyung's less It's a boring blues performance.

[Fireman], which is also a clean rock style, is said to be a song made to convey respect to the firefighters, with the attractive combination of the trio Lee Geun-hyung/Jang Tae-woong/Jang Hyuk who have been together for a long time.

[Lighthouse], which I expected from the title, has a unique sound expression that expresses waves and a lonely lighthouse shining on the sea.

[Salesman's Day], which is also characterized by funny and humorous expressions, is a song that is described as playing while imagining a day, daily life, and family, such as a salesperson going to work and leaving work.

[Alone], which has a dreamy and simple feel, played by Lee Geun-hyung himself, including the guitar and keyboard, is said to have tried to contain the fear, desolation, and loneliness of artificial satellites, space stations, or other objects floating in outer space.

[Panic Disorder (Feat. Kim Jong-hyun)], in which rapper Kim Jong-hyun participated and Lee Geun-hyung even mobilized a mandolin, was a relatively strong rock sound, and it is an unusual crossover-oriented sound that tried to capture his life as a rocker who started under the influence of Led Zeppelin.

[Balade (Walking)], which uses a nylon string acoustic guitar favored by classical guitars or some transparent sound-oriented fusion jazz guitarists, is a very proper impression if you feel like you are walking through a forest without a path.

As the title suggests, [After War], which came out as a reminder of a war that shouldn't happen, is said to have been made a long time ago, but Min Geum-yong's voice participation adds a special flavor.

The final song [Going Home] is characterized by a warm sensibility, and Lee Geun-hyung's acoustic guitar performance, which matches the percussion performance of Jo Jong-seong, is a comfortable performance that conveys excitement and happy feelings as he leaves the city and heads home with his heart.

Although it is an era in which guitarists with all kinds of special moves, a sense of speed, and even avant-garde appear one after another and surpass the limits of performance and expression, musicians close to the origin continue to appear, but a real instrument that has been tuned with a retro and standard sensibility and a long-term sum of players. It is also a cold reality that this kind of performance album, which conveys the sensibility, respect, and influence received from various musicians as well as the sound of the performance, is difficult to come out without special consideration and opportunity, and the determination of the performer. We applaud 'Lee Geun-hyung', who is one of the big brothers in the rock music world and has lived as a major guitar player in the session world, and the producer's decision and release of the album, and welcomes his colorful performances of his musical experience.

Written by Seong Woo-jin (Music critic/PDJ of 'Midnight Music Tour', Gyeongin Broadcasting)