Down the years the North East of England has produced some of the finest bands and individual musicians in the world. Of course there was Sting and his mighty band The Police, Mark Knopfler and Dire Straits who for a time ruled the airwaves and relentlessly undertook touring schedules that eventually took their toll. Then there’s Chris Rea, The Animals, Lindisfarne, Paul Rodgers and David Coverdale. Admittedly the last two have me casting my net down to Teesside but in the bigger picture they all count. Each and every one has become acknowledged masters of their art and leading lights in their respective genres. You might say they were lucky but I prefer to think that their talent got them to the top of the music tree.

Now if I were to say the name Paul Rose would anyone know who I'm talking about? Well if you live in the North East and play guitar then there is more than a fair chance that Rose’s name has a lot of, as they say in Newcastle, clout. In fact I would go as far as saying there are many people all around the world who know and are a huge fans of Rose and that includes many “big name “players. For those who aren't aware of the name Rose however he is a guitar player who, whilst not a global phenomenon the size of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani or Van Halen, is a true master the likes of which only comes along once in a while. Rose is a guitar player’s guitarist and a musician that can appeal to the non-guitar player. Rose might even just be the United Kingdoms best guitarist that people have never heard of.

With this, his latest album Rose has recorded thirteen tracks of some of the most wonderful, accessible and tasteful guitar playing you will hear this year. It’s not all guitar instrumentals either as Rose flexes his vocals on a few numbers that gives the album a nice flow and means “there is something for everyone”. When an album really takes my ear I like to do a track-by-track run through so read on to find out what this album has to offer.

The album opens with “Hurting” which has a wonderful big, wide and strident groove that grabs the listener instantly. It's a very approachable song with a great chorus that brings to mind the harmonies of another North East band The Kane Gang. The guitar solo is a double stop and hybrid picking feast at times reminiscent of the genius that is Jerry Donahue when Rose executes some very cool multiple string bends. The play out is a slithery tapped workout with Rose using the technique to play dazzling melody lines instead of the mathematical note passages that this technique is often tagged with. “No Spark No Fire” feels autobiographical and has a perfect structure that is in essence a very classy slice of pop/rock song writing.

“Blues For Stevie G” is a short blues workout that feels spontaneous with some unique sounding phrases that create the feeling of “going for it”. “My Life” once more sounds lyrically very personal and has a straight forward verse chorus approach but that’s where the simplicity stops as when the guitar solo enters Rose lets loose a great flurry of fiery and inventive playing taking the song from the ordinary to the extraordinary in two short minutes. “All That Goes Around” is a great slice of commercial sounding pop with lush stacked vocal harmonies giving everything a very full sound. The understated acoustic solo is exactly what the song demands and Paul’s delivery is controlled and melodic. “Man Of Mystery” is an inspired cover with Rose's playing sounding almost liquid like as the notes seem to drip from ones speakers.

“Single Coil” is as sublime a slice of the most intimate guitar playing you will ever hear. This is music you can’t help but “feel” with solos that have a gorgeous clean tone that just wraps itself around you. “It’s All Over Now” is another cover song. Many years ago Nils Lofgren did a great version on his album “Wonderland” but Rose's effort drags the song kicking and screaming into the present with some hot soloing that sizzles and burns. “Lime Street” sees things settling down again with solos that are played in a controlled and tender fashion. The main clean solo has a great singing like tone as Rose slithers and bends away with wilful glee, at times sounding like Steve Ray Vaughan. “Excuses” starts out sounding like a curious mixture of the B-52’s and The Flying Lizards and, if that sounds like fun, believe when I say it's a blast that contains some knockout guitar punches.

“Summertime” is one of the most recognized and sublime melodies ever written. The melody makes you sweat and want a cool beer after just a few bars even on a cold winters day. Rose's version is very tasty and demands that the listener just sits back and lets the music wash over and enter every pore. Then there's “Fairground Dream”, an uplifting number that is vibrant and optimistic sounding. The song takes a cool detour into fairground sounds where you can hear snippets of some of Rose’s previous work interwoven into the arrangement. Finally there's the title track “Promises” where Rose teases and pulls wonderfully original phrases from his guitar. At times I began to wonder if I was hearing reverse recorded guitar, as some of the note choices were just so unusual and as the song began to fade out I was left yearning for more.