Gary Lucas   press quotes  


Operators Are Standing By FOR OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY:

"4 STARS—THIS FOLLOW-UP TO THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED 'EDGE OF HEAVEN' SHOWS LUCAS ATTACKING EVERYTHING FROM PUNK TO FOLK...often referred to as a 'former collaborator' of the Three B's (Beefheart, Bernstein and Buckley), this compilation should help finally put him in the spotlight...confirms him as the psychedelic guitarist for the post-modern set...the perfect introduction."
Mojo (UK), 10/2003

"4 STARS—THERE'S ONLY ONE MEMBER OF THE GARY LUCAS SCHOOL OF GUITAR HISTRIONICS: GARY LUCAS. Sylistically dissimilar but equally bonkers mavericks might include Dave Fiucynski, Roy Buchanan, Vinni Reilly, but even they'd be hard pressed to match the 'Man with a Thousand Ideas'....this collection features Lucas in even more pyrotechnic, psychedelic mode. This is not Lucas in sideman guise—not that Lucas ever was really a sideman: he just put on his own show alongside the likes of the good Captain or the equally unique Mary Margaret O'Hara...the man can't be beat: he's a brain-box axe man in excelsis, Page, Beck, Roy Harper and Blind Willie Johnson rolled into one. If you want virtuosity, passion and the downright weird speared to a righteous anger, 'Operators are Standing By' is for you."
Jazzwise (UK), 8/2003

"EVIDENCE THAT LUCAS, DESPITE HIS PAST WORK WITH BEEFHEART, BUCKLEY AND JOAN OSBORNE, IS NOBODY'S SIDEMAN. It's also proof that he's got a sense of humor. His playing speaks volumes whether through a calming sea of loops and delayed tones, raw distortion, or his speedy and elegant slide playing. There's a killer version of Pink Floyd's 'Astronomy Domine,' where Lucas builds a wall of feedback, splitting the difference between Syd Barrett amd Jimi Hendrix. And 'Theme from East Enders' plays canny games with vibrato and intonation to make his guitar's sound – which is always big and focused – shimmy. A very good introduction to the solo work of this underrated player and songwriter. 3 STARS."
Boston Phoenix and Portland Phoenix, 5/2003

"SMART COLLECTION OF THE FORMER CAPTAIN BEEFHEART GUITARIST'S SETS."
Guitar One, 5/2003