Gary Lucas   press quotes  


Live FOR LIVE PERFORMANCES:

"In the shadows of his Stetson, Gary Lucas's mischievous gaze sparkles as he begins his set with a few picking pieces, interspersed, as he proceeds, with digressions on his career and the encounters that have marked him. Alone or flanked by guests, including Jean-Philippe Rykiel on the keyboard, ideal counterpoint of his guitar game while he performs, he channeled for two hours Chinese pop of the 1930s, the Allegro of the Czech composer Janacek, classics of the Rolling Stones and his hero Skip James, not to mention the detours expected by Captain Beefheart's rough blues and Jeff Buckley's celestial chants."
ROCK&FOLK (France), 4/2019

"We often become fond of artists who define themselves and never truly redefine themselves, producing new music that sits well within an easy-to-market 'catalogue', evolving yet not transforming or taking risks. Gary clearly didn’t choose that path, and tonight, every soul squished into that hot room was thrilled he opted to trailblaze instead."
JULIE BLORE-BIZOT, Sunset Jazz Club Paris 3/2019

"I had the pleasure of catching Gary Lucas solo at the low key and unassuming Quinn's in Beacon, NY on Sunday, April 2nd. What a treat! It was like having a guitar legend in my living room! I knew of Gary's work with Captain Beefheart certainly but was still fairly new to the man's rich and broad musical output over several decades. Let's just say that now I'm a huge fan. Gary's performance was mind-blowing and his stage persona is simply a funny, engaging, unpretentious, creative human that loves what he does. I won't even attempt to describe what this music is. All I know is that to me, he's the only guitar player alive that matters."
TOM BONE TODD JENKINS, 4/2017

"ONE OF THE FIVE BEST GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD"
LIDOVE NOVINY (national Czech newspaper), 11/2008

"Dean Bowman's booming baritone voice recalls Pharaoh Sanders's late sidekick Leon Thomas, but Bowman has gone even deeper into jazz yodeling. You can expect a sanctified performance tonight, since Bowman is teaming up with guitar maverick Gary Lucas to celebrate the legacy of Holy Rollers such as the Rev. Gary Davis, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 7/31/2008
PICK FOR 8/6/2008 SHOW

"GUITAR VIRTUOSO GARY LUCAS, known as one of the best interpreters of Captain Beefheart's surreal compositions."
VILLAGE VOICE, 4/2008

"The former Captain Beefheart guitar wizard delighted his loyalists with an explosion of avant-jazz fusion and post-rock pyrotechnics from across the band's career. With former Talking Head Jerry Harrison on keyboards, they ripped through a 'Poison Tree/Jack Johnson/Ghostrider' medley from their 1992 debut, a modal Abdullah Ibrahim cover, and selections from the band's new album, Coming Clean."
AUSTIN CHRONICLE, 3/2007

"On Friday night Gary Lucas and GODS & MONSTERS ripped through a blazing 50-minute set of progressive fusion rock that featured the fierce sax work of Jason Candler and Gary's breathtaking ax work. But what would you expect with Billy Ficca (Television) on drums and Ernie Brooks (Modern Lovers) on bass to anchor the proceedings? These merry pranksters are so deserving of the hype that I'll leave it at that. Go see them if you have a chance. You will not be disappointed."
CULTURECATCH.COM, 3/2007

"Gary Lucas led avant-punk legends Gods & Monsters through a set of awesome jazz-rock that was a welcome respite from all the folk and roots music I'd witnessed...his band included Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads on keyboards, Billy Ficca of Television on drums, and Ernie Brooks of the Modern Lovers on bass...I walked out of that church with my mind truly blown.
AUSTIN CHRONICLE, 3/2007

"GUITARIST GARY LUCAS' ESTIMABLE GODS AND MONSTERS...ONE OF THE CURRENT SCENE'S MOST BRACING, JUST-UNDER-THE-RADAR PERFORMERS...STUNG LIKE A SWARM OF BEES. His fleetness was bracing: taken in conjunction with his deft use of effects that imparted voices both surreally spacey and woozily woodsy, it was positively intoxicating. Lucas has an uncanny ability to transmogrify source material, finding twisted roots and unexpected back allies that most performers would either pass over or simply not recognize."
VARIETY, 1/2007

"GARY LUCAS, THE THINKING MAN'S GUITAR HERO, SPENT TIME IN TAIPEI WHEN HE WAS YOUNG, WENT ON TO BACK CAPTAIN BEEFHEART, AND HAS HAD A SOLO CAREER THAT EMBRACES THE AVANT-GARDE AND ALTERNATIVE ROCK IN EQUAL MEASURES. HIS BAND GODS AND MONSTERS PLAYS SLIGHTLY PSYCHEDELIC ROCK WITH AN EDGE OF AMERICANA, AND HE BRINGS THEM TO THE BOWERY POETRY CLUB FOR AN EARLY-JANUARY WORKOUT."
THE NEW YORKER, 1/2007

"GARY LUCAS & GODS AND MONSTERS OFFERS ROOTSY, HARD-GROOVIN' ROCK GOOSED BY THE LEADER'S ECLECTIC GUITAR VIRTUOSITY. THE BAND'S LATEST, 'COMING CLEAN' (MIGHTY QUINN) FEATURES THE USUAL ART-ROCK ALL-STARS--MODERN LOVERS BASSIST ERNIE BROOKS, SWANS DRUMMER JONATHAN KANE, AND TELEVISION'S BILLY FICCA--PLUS PLENTY OF LUCAS'S SMOKY CROONING AND FIERY STRUMS."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 1/2007

"THE GUY HAS AND CAN DO IT ALL."
VILLAGE VOICE, 8/2006

"LUCAS MADE HIS MARK BY SCORING THE EERIE '20s GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST FILM 'THE GOLEM'. THERE AND ON A STAGE HE'S A SONIC SHAPE SHIFTER, BLENDING NON-KLEZMER JEWISH ROOTS WITH JAZZ AND WHATEVER ELSE STRIKES ONE OF THE MORE SOPHISTICATED MUSICAL PALATES AROUND."
VILLAGE VOICE, 5/2006

"THE LEGENDARY LEFTFIELD GUITARIST, LATE OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND THE MAGIC BAND."
THE GUARDIAN (UK), 12/2005

"AVANT-GUTBUCKET STRING-SLINGER GARY LUCAS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNPREDICTABLE ARTISTS IN TOWN, BUT THERE'S ONE THING YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON: WHETHER HE'S RIFFING ON AYLER, BEEFHEART, CHINESE FOLK SONGS AND WHAT HAVE YOU, HE DOES IT WITH WIT AND AUTHORITY."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 7/2005

"ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE AND LEAST PREDICATBLE MUSICIANS IN NEW YORK CITY, GARY LUCAS IS A CONSISTENTLY SATISFYING LIVE PERFORMER, WHETHER HE'S ROCKING ON BEEFHEART TUNES OR TRANSFORMING AYLER ANTHEMS INTO BACK-PORCH BLUES."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 5/2005

"IF THERE'S ANY DOWNTOWN MUSIC ENSEMBLE THAT LUCAS HASN'T SAT IN ON, DON'T WORRY BECAUSE HE SOON WILL. HE'S ALMOST AS MUCH OF A MAINSTAY IN THE NYC OUTRE WORLD AS ZORN HIMSELF. IT ALSO HELPS THAT LUCAS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A NIMBLE GUITARIST AND HE'S GOT ERNIE BROOKS (MODERN LOVERS) AND BILLY FICCA (TELEVISION) FOR SUPPORT."
VILLAGE VOICE, 3/2005

"FEW GUITARISTS HAVE AS MANY TRICKS UP THEIR SLEEVE AS LUCAS, THE FORMER MUSICAL COLLEAGUE OF BOTH CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND JEFF BUCKLEY WHOSE ARTY AND ACIDIC TRIO CHURNS UP BLUES, COUNTRY AND FOLK TROPES INTO A FREAKY, FIERY FRENZY. DUDE KNOWS HOW TO WEAR A HAT, TOO."
VILLAGE VOICE, 11/2004

"GODS AND MONSTERS, LED BY THE GUITARIST GARY LUCAS FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS NOW, HAS NEVER HAD FIXED PERSONNEL; INSTEAD IT HAS SERVED TO SHOWCASE ALL OF MR. LUCAS'S DIRECTIONS AT ONCE: FILM AND TELEVISION MUSIC, PSYCHEDELIA, DELTA-BLUES FINGERPICKING AND ROCK-GUITAR INTERPRETATIONS OF CLASSICAL MUSIC SCORES."
NEW YORK TIMES, Weekend Critics Pick, 11/2003

"EAST VILLAGE GUITAR LEGENDS—LENNY KAYE, GARY LUCAS AND DAVE FIRST (HOWL FESTIVAL)...you also get guitar god Gary Lucas (after all, his band is Gods and Monsters)."
THE VILLAGE VOICE, 8/2003

"THE INDUSTRIOUS GUITARIST GARY LUCAS..."
THE NEW YORKER, 6/2003

"FOR THOSE UNACQUAINTED WITH THE LUCAS EXPERIENCE, THIS WOULD BE THE PLACE TO GET UP TO SPEED WITH THE ALWAYS FERTILE AND OFTEN QUITE FREAKY GUITARIST...CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF INSPIRED TWANG."
THE VILLAGE VOICE, 6/2003

"THE ACCLAIMED AVANT-GUITARIST GARY LUCAS..."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 5/2003

"LUSH MID-CENTURY CHINESE POP LUCAS REVIVES SO EXQUISITELY...an intriguing Chinese New Year meeting of fleet-fingered guitarist and cool pipa (Chinese lute) virtuoso Min Xiao-Fen, who also happens to sing."
VILLAGE VOICE concert pick, 2/2003

"DOWNTOWN OMNIVORE MUSICIAN...HE'S A FLASHY GUITARIST WITH A VAST RECORD-COLLECTION IN HIS HEAD."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2/2003

"IT'S NOT JUST CHOPS LUCAS RELIES ON TO CARRY THE DAY: HE'S GOT A CINEMATIC IMAGINATION, TOO. The resonator of his National steel guitar glistens with an earthy kind of psychedelia."
VILLAGE VOICE, 09/02

"HIS COLLABORATIVE SKILLS ARE KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD, AND HIS OWN STRING INSTRUMENT IS KNOWN FOR ITS BIG HEART AND SPUR OF THE MOMENT WISDOM."
VILLAGE VOICE, 06/02

"OUTSTANDING SHARP-EDGED EXPLOSIVE POP HYMNS."
DER TAGESPIEGEL, 4/2002

"FOR SURE GARY LUCAS WILL NEVER STOP SURPRISING US...THE SOLO CONCERT OF THIS ALIEN OF THE NY UNDERGROUND IS AN EVENT NOT TO BE MISSED."
CESAR (FRANCE), 3/2002

"THE NONSTOP GUITARIST GARY LUCAS..."
VILLAGE VOICE, 06/01

"LUCAS EFFORTLESSLY TIED IT ALL TOGETHER...through sheer virtuosity, through his unique playing style, and through an unflinching curatorial curiosity and intelligence that finds the common connection, the voice of human yearning...musical humanitarianism. An extraordinary range of music and of styles."
THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE, 04/01

"ORCHESTRA IN A SUITCASE...LUCAS HAS A SPIRITUAL KINSHIP WITH ROBERT JOHNSON. Where other people have their bandmates to keep them company, Lucas only has his 2 guitars and a suitcase. Without stop, he circles the globe and lives out of his suitcase. The loveable world traveler as a soloist creates the sound of a whole orchestra."
MITTELDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany), 03/01

"MIX OF TRADITION AND INNOVATION...a constant alternation of blues, rock, folk and space sounds and aggressive passages makes Gary Lucas impossible to categorize...in the past 10 years Lucas has developed into a self-contained musician that can't be mistaken for anyone else. He brings to his work the cultural urbanity and many-sidedness of his hometown NYC. In his virtuoso hands, the instrument and the musician become one."
GEISLINGEN TAGESBLATT (Germany), 09/00

"BETWEEN HIS SOLO WORK AND SIDEMAN PROJECTS, IT'S A WONDER THAT GARY LUCAS HAS TIME TO SLEEP."
TIME OUT NY, 04/01

"THE BRILLIANT GUITARIST GARY LUCAS..."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4/01

"DIRTY AND VIRTUOSIC DELTA BLUES...THIS FINE GUITARIST."
VILLAGE VOICE, 4/01

"GUITARIST AND TECHNO-WIZARD..."
TIME OUT NY, 4/01

"4 STARS, #1 LIVE PICK...GARY LUCAS, IN A PURE FORMAT...A DAZZLING PERFORMER CAPABLE OF WORKING WONDERS, ARMED WITH ONLY ONE GUITAR."
ADEN, LE MONDE, 01/01

"GARY LUCAS, MUSICIAN OF THE FRONTIER...he is a new myth of the frontier, a little Western, but also close to the avant-garde. Lucas arrives in Paris to showcase his genial music, much more human. The art of the solitary cavalier."
FIGAROSCOPE, LE FIGARO, 01/01

"GARY LUCAS, A GUITARIST OF THE RACE OF GIANTS...THE TRUE LIVING GENIUSES OF GUITAR CAN BE COUNTED ON THE FINGERS OF ONE HAND. AND GARY LUCAS IS ONE OF THEM...his incomparable sound, immediately recognizable, an inventiveness that leaves you breathless...this great guitarist is capable of captivating an audience with just 6 strings. This passionate and tireless player is playing on all the stages of the world for over 10 years."
LE PARISIEN, 01/01

"4 STARS...A FEAST OF INTRIGUING, SUBTLE WIZARDY, UNDERPINNED WITH A CORE OF ACCESSIBILITY...HE SIMPLY SHOWED WHAT THE WIDER WORLD HAS BEEN MISSING. THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A WHOLE BAND UP THERE WITH HIM. IN TRUTH, HE DOESN'T NEED ANYBODY ELSE."
THE GUARDIAN (UK), 01/01

"HEAVILY TOUTED US GUITAR WHIZZ RETURNS WITH MORE OF HIS SAVVY AND SURE, CULTURALLY SUBVERSIVE AVANT GHETTO FARE...esteemed American singer-songwriter, one time Beefheart guitarist and Jeff Buckley collaborator (he co-wrote 'Grace') returns to London. Expect a raucous blend of rock, Chinese pop, delta blues and folk plus improvised film scores."
TIME OUT LONDON, 01/01

"GARY LUCAS IS A GUITARIST WITH 1,000 IDEAS...AN OVERLOOKED AMERICAN TALENT. Earlier this month, he performed to a packed house in the elegant Hotel du Nord in Paris. And last week he was the headliner in the Knitting Factory's new West Coast annex."
INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 01/01

"WHEN DON VAN VLIET (A.K.A. CAPTAIN BEEFHEART) GAVE UP CREATING MUSIC IN FAVOR OF CREATING WITH PAINTBRUSHES, IT NEARLY MEANT THE LOSS OF TWO MUSICAL GENIUSES...LUCAS FOREGOES THE MORE-NOTES-PER SECOND PHILOSOPHY, SHOWING US HOW A GUITAR CAN MAKE US FEEL, WITH NO RESPECT TO LIMITS SUPERFICIALLY IMPOSED BY OUR IDEAS OF GENRE. BLUES, POP, KLEZMER, ROCK, EXPERIMENTAL, CHILDREN'S, PROGRESSIVE, CLASSICAL. AND JAZZ—IT'S ALL JUST MUSIC TO HIM."
LOS ANGELES NEW TIMES, 01/01

"THE SCOPE AND QUALITY OF LUCAS' MUSIC EASILY CLASSIFIES HIM AS A GENIUS."
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE (Riverside California), 01/01

"THE AMAZING GUITARIST AND COMPOSER GARY LUCAS PERFORMS HIS SCORES FOR THREE EARLY AVANT-GARDE COMEDIES WHICH CAN NEVER BE SEEN TOO OFTEN."
VILLAGE VOICE, 12/00

"TURNING THE ROLE OF THE GUITAR GOD INTO THAT OF THE HOLY FOOL, GARY LUCAS MAKES MUSIC THAT IS MYSTICAL AND JOCULAR, INSUBORDINATE AND SPELLBINDING."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 12/00

"LUCAS, A CEASELESSLY INVENTIVE SULTAN OF STRUM, has recently turned his attention to the mid-century film tunes associated with Chinese 'song-girls' Chow Hsuan and Bai Kwong. Lucas gives these melodramatic melodies an earthy, bluesy bent, as he does to an eclectic wealth of material soaked up from just about everywhere."
VILLAGE VOICE, 12/00

"GARY LUCAS PLAYED HYPNOTIC AMBIENT GUITAR."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 12/00 (review of Downtown Messiah)

"IT'S HARD TO KNOW WHAT GENRE TO EXPECT WHEN GARY LUCAS TURNS UP WITH GUITAR(S) IN HAND. Chinese pop? The blues? Rock? Whichever it is, it' s a pretty safe guess that the prefix avant would fit just fine in front of it."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 12/00

"A RARE CHANCE TO CATCH HIGHLY RESPECTED, ECLECTIC NEW YORK MUSICIAN AND GRAMMY AWARD NOMINEE GARY LUCAS WHO PLAYS A FREE GIG AT DINGWALLS."
TIME OUT LONDON, 11/00

"A SHOWOFF, DEFINITELY, BUT HE DOESN'T WRITE ANY CHECKS HIS FINGERS CAN'T CASH."
VILLAGE VOICE, 11/00

"LUCAS HAS BEEN MAKING PYROTECHNICAL, IMPROVISATIONAL GUITAR ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT COMPROMISING HIS INVENTION. Live and on record, Lucas reaffirms not only his guitar virtuosity but his wild eclecticism."
CITYSEARCH.COM, 10/00

"GARY LUCAS PLAYS GUITAR THE WAY SALVADOR DALI PAINTED, with dazzling displays of technique, wicked humor, and a thirst to completely refashion his art from its basic elements. He's a bottomless pit of ideas."
NYTODAY.COM (NEW YORK TIMES), 11/00

"A MIND-BLOWING GUITARIST WITH A WONDERFULLY WEIRD SENSE OF HUMOR. Lucas deploys acid art music, instrumental pyrotechnics, and spur-of-the moment strangeness...A GENEROUSLY INVENTIVE GUITARIST."
VILLAGE VOICE, 8/00

"ELECTRONICS AND THE BLUES, TRADITION AND EXPERIMENTATION: the paradoxical universe of Gary Lucas, here at the Paradiso with Gods and Monsters, a power trio in the classic lineup. Who expected a night of Beefheart-like music or a solo performance with backing was wrong: Gods and Monsters mainly played psychedelic rock, with group improvisations in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix Experience and Cream. A new trio arrangement of Hitchcock's 'Psycho' used complex noise against silence in a powerful way...a real rock band. Gary Lucas proved that his to-the-point blues references have evolved, along with his own eclectic style."
DE VOLKSKRANT (Holland), 5/00

"GUITAR GOD LUCAS HAS BEEN SCULPTING OFF-KILTER AND PROVOCATIVE SOUNDS SINCE HIS HITCH WITH CAPTAIN BEEFHEART."
DAILY NEWS, 4/00 (Pick for 20 year retrospective show)

"MR. LUCAS IS AN ABLE CURATOR OF HIS OWN WORK...YOU'LL HEAR AN AWFUL LOT OF IDEAS...he can make Chinese folk songs sound like the blues...he plays some of Captain Beefheart's short, twisty, clustered pieces with lovely clarity."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 4/00 (Pick for 20 year retrospective show)

"GUITARIST GARY LUCAS'S BACKGROUND throws a monkey wrench into the idea that the best blues come from the Delta. He went to Yale, which is probably better preparation for a career collaborating with Captain Beefheart, Peter Stampfel, Nick Cave and DJ Spooky, among others."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 4/00 (Pick for 20 year retrospective show)

"IT WAS 20 YEARS AGO that this superfreak guitarist began doling out his capsicum-laced mood food. Lucas will tear the roof off the sucker with the hammer-down Gods and Monsters, but not before he wraps it up in warm fuzzies with the help of guests like Richard Barone and Elli Medeiros."
VILLAGE VOICE, 4/00 (Pick for 20 year retrospective show)

"A MIND-BLOWING GUITARIST WITH A WONDERFULLY WEIRD SENSE OF HUMOR...an evening of acid art music, instrumental pyrotechnics, and other spur-of-the-moment strangeness."
VILLAGE VOICE, 2/00

"HIS PLAYING IS UNDENIABLY ORIGINAL, something that employers such as Jeff Buckley and Joan Osborne have clearly noticed. Lucas is revered by a small but fiercely devoted following."
THE NEW YORKER, 1/00

"GARY LUCAS, THE FAMOUS GUITARIST WAS A CENTRAL ATTRACTION AT THE STATDGARDEN FESTIVAL OF JEWISH MUSIC...whatever Lucas takes in hand, be it blues, jazz, classical or yiddish musical treasures he plays with the material and manipulates it until it takes on a new identity. One condition however – you have to enter into Lucas' cosmos. Into a world which both anguishes and liberates."
KOLNER STADTZEIGER (Germany), 5/99

"A ONE-MAN GUITAR ARMY, Lucas makes electronically enhanced music of epic cinematic proportions."
VILLAGE VOICE, 6/99

"GARY LUCAS' MUSIC IS REMARKABLE...breathtaking precision picking alternates with feedback orgies...then he climbs dreamily into a lyrical style...in Lucas' hands this panoply of styles does not in any way meld into an eclectic mishmash...famous solo concerts."
ZITTY (Berlin), 3/99

"NOTHING COMPARES TO THE EXPERIENCE OF HIS LIVE PERFORMANCE. He not only melds himself together with his instrument such that you can't tell where skin and flesh end and wood and string begin, but he also becomes one with his melodies. His sound is like an enchanted forest in which one only finds oneself going deeper and deeper without however feeling any desire ever to leave."
DER TAGESPIEGEL (Germany), 3/99

"IT'S AN ACTION PERIOD FOR GARY LUCAS, and those who took in his 10th anniversary bash last month know the guitarist of many dispositions likes his G&M trio to open heads while smiling a bit. No, they're not shy."
VILLAGE VOICE, 2/99

"THE TRIO IS STILL MINDBLOWING...Lucas shreds the frets of his guitar, while his accomplices bounce from one meter to the next. AND THE SONGS, generally the last priority in chops-heavy music, ARE ACE."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 2/99

"LUCAS IS THE RARE ARTIST WHO THINKS SONG-FIRST - his luminous technique is used more for the composition's sake then for it's own. His rock trio's repertoire centers on attentively selected songs they can tease into splendor."
VILLAGE VOICE, 1/99

"THE BAND GODS AND MONSTERS ROCKS, WITHOUT FOOTNOTES...THE DU-TELS (Gary Lucas and Peter Stampfel) WERE CHARMINGLY LOOSE AND DEVIANT...SOLO SET: INTELLIGENT VINDICATIONS OF THE UNIFIED-FIELD APPROACH TO MUSIC...LUCAS CONNECTS HIS CONSIDERABLE TALENTS."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 12/98

"HE TURNS THE CLICHE OF THE GUITAR SOLO ON ITS HEAD, PLAYING MIND-BENDING, HEART-TUGGING SONGS OF UNERRING BEAUTY."
NY POST, 12/98

"BOUNDLESS MUSICAL ART...guitarist Gary Lucas encompasses with his fantastic capacities the boundless landscapes of the blues, folk and rock – not to mention modern improvisation. He's an amazing one man show...his dextrous fingers are like a second instrument...orchestral spaciousness, aggressive dissonances and rhythmic dynamism. Lucas never loses his feel for what is tasteful and pleasing to the ear."
KRONENZEITUNG (Austria), 10/98

"PLAYING SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH THE AUDIENCE WAS ONE OF THE WORLD'S BEST GUITARISTS...a master of technique, of sweet as well as powerful sounds, a living legend."
NAUMBURGER TAGEBLATT, 10/98

"SIGMUND FREUD OF THE GUITAR...with the wealth of sounds, one has the impression that Lucas is expressing his soul and revealing all his unconscious secrets. The master guitarist draws on a sound palette that sounds like an entire orchestra. He demonstrates perfect hand work. The inexhaustible creativity of Gary Lucas gives new dimension to these melodies."
MITTELDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 10/98

"MANHATTAN'S RESIDENT ART-ROCK GUITAR WHIZ..."
VILLAGE VOICE, 9/98

"GARY LUCAS TRAVELS THE WORLD, BLENDING WRITTEN AND IMPROVISED PASSAGES INTO HIS GUITAR WORK."
JAZZIZ, 9/98

"GARY LUCAS STORMED INTO DOC WATSON'S AND ROLLED THROUGH HIS SET LIKE A MAN ON A MISSION...it was a wild journey from start to finish, and it is easy to see why the world's top artists go to Gary for inspiration and a helping hand in the studio. Close to God, far away from hype and flattery, Gary is a musician at heart!"
WHAT IT IS! JOURNAL (Philadelphia), 4/98

"THE WILY GUITARZAN WILL LET LOOSE HIS ECLECTICSM...the wily guitarzan being who he is, tht means everything from fragged flare-ups to 'Sunrise Sunset' to a bit of Groucho. I bet there weren't any National steel six strings back there in Hebrew School. How'd he come up with that?"
VILLAGE VOICE, 4/98

"ONE OF THE BEST GUITARISTS IN THE WORLD...the nightmare-dreamer of history. He has massive prestige."
MAGYAR NARANCS (Budapest), 1/98

"THE ORCHESTRAL MIGHT OF GARY LUCAS...the guitar is his magic wand...Lucas mixes in sovereign fashion hard rock, blues, jazz, avant-garde and country music to finally construct his unmistakable sound cosmos...thunder, drones, shrieks, but also melodic magic...unique and original compositions. So multi-faceted resounded the musical spectrum of this musical daredevil."
NACHRICHTEN (Austria), 1/98

"AS AN ARTIST AND A MUSICIAN, HE'S ONE OF THE GREATS...releasing storms of noise and threatening the jobs of countless orchestra musicians. He propagated unlimited freedom...using the effects in ways in which he really invented...something that floated between a peace pipe, Jimi Hendrix and the night bombing of Dresden...a multi-dimensional apocalyptic guitar adventure."
SCHWABISCHES TAGBLATT (Germany), 1/98

"AS A SOLOIST, THE NEW YORKER SPARES US NOTHING...the warm-heartedness and confidence with which he guides the audience through his program is disarming. He brings the music to extremes of psychedelia, but the passionate roar with Lucas is not a technical show-off but stamped with the sound of joy and play. One had the impression that the music played itself, and that Gary could step aside and enjoy the music with love and dedication. At the end of the concert, the good-natured guitarist could not tear himself away from the enthusiastic, receptive audience."
TAGESZEITUNG fur BREMEN (Germany), 1/98

"A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THE MUCH-IN-DEMAND DOWNTOWN GUITARIST GARY LUCAS."
THE NEW YORKER, 12/97

"A REAL MASTER...Lucas showcased himself as an extremely gifted gutiar player, for whom depth with musical insight and artistic quality go hand in hand. He used no tapes and the samplers were working in real time. In fact, with his pedals and dexterity, the guitarist formed a complete orchestra."
DE TROUW (Netherlands), 3/97

"LUCAS HAS PROVED AGAIN that we can place him next to musical heroes as Jimi Hendrix and others...his vitality and bravura were admirable. He did his most brilliant songs tirelessly."
DENNI TELEGRAF (Prague), 10/96

"MUSIC, GODLIKE AND MONSTROUS, AT THE SAME TIME...Gary Lucas captured the public with his unconventional style beyond anything you've ever heard before...this top American guitarist opened a door to a new world of sound. His blend of experimental sounds with his classically fine guitar playing excellence is something new and distinctive. Gary Lucas is a possessed person with the soul of a child. And he is an entertainer in the best sense of the word."
MITTELDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 10/96

"A DAZZLING REPRESENTATIVE of the new breed of downtown guitar gods and monsters (among them Marc Ribot and Vernon Reid) who draw equally upon jazz, blues and rock traditions."
VILLAGE VOICE, 8/96

"GARY LUCAS IS ONE OF THE ONLY GUITARISTS WHO MATTERS."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 5/96

"ONE OF ROCK'S MOST ORIGINAL GUITARISTS...a virtuoso of effects boxes as well as the guitar."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 7/94

"TOTALLY GENIUS...Lucas is an electric guitar Einstein. Anybody who's seen him leading his own group, Gods and Monsters, or whatever other supercool New Yorker's hoarding his talent at the moment, knows this. And what a brain for every riff you ever thought about. Maybe that's what makes his hair so curly."
VILLAGE VOICE, 1/95

"GARY LUCAS IS AMONG A MINORITY OF MUSICIANS CAPABLE OF INEXHAUSTIBLE STREAMS OF INGENUITY...Lucas' tasteful mixture of guitar wizardry and compositional invention never falter. He continues to play his guitar with a precise blend of intelligence, talent and grace...things music fans desperately need, whether they're aware of it or not."
SECONDS, 3/96

"LUCAS APPEARED IN GREAT FORM, attractive and beautifully interesting, capable of utilizing intelligently electronic sounds with which he eruditely underlined certain passages while assuredly creating an atmosphere, coupling the spirit of experimental rock of the 70's and 80's with the spirit of TODAY."
IL MEDITERRANEO, Italy, 8/95

"LUCAS ALWAYS SHREDS; whether it's fretboards or stylistic conventions or both depends on his inclination at the time."
TIME OUT NEW YORK, 10/95

"SUPER GENIUS WONDER GUITARIST...Merciless Mr. Quickhand...the guitar fire-man knows how to unfold the most varied range of styles."
HAMBURG MORGENPOST, 2/96

"IT TRULY IS ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS...you can go to hear music every night of the week for six months and not hear an artist of as much free-flowing form and substance as Gary Lucas. This is a wonderful band with drummer Jonathan Kane and bassist Jean Chaine, and vocalist Emily. Their sound ranges from full metal thrash to blues old and new, rock, jazz, and heady noise. All delivered with the fabulous sound of Lucas out front. What a treat. You folks really shouldn't miss him."
MACINTOSH NEW YORK MUSIC FESTIVAL WEBPAGE, 7/95

"LUCAS IS NOT AFRAID to take the guitar in both its acoustic and electric incarnations where no axman has gone before. Besides being a technical whiz with faster-than-light fingers, Lucas manages to make listenable, even humorous music, unlike some of the more 'avant' denizens of the avant-garde. His playing lends new meaning to the term tour de force...brilliant fingerpicking skills."
THE JAPAN TIMES, 4/96

"LUCAS demonstrates himself to be one of the few who have enough technique, humour and ideas in store to enable him to hold people's attention to his instrument for a long period of time...the things he manages to conjure up are astonishing...each piece consists of a dream-like yet powerful melody...they linger in the mind, purring on pleasantly."
NRC-HANDELSBLAD, Netherlands, 10/95

"A THREE HOUR GUITAR AVALANCHE BREAKS OVER THE AUDIENCE...the thematic range of the echoing guitar wizard is overpowering...a possessed soul, a Pied Piper...the strings appear to grow directly into the nerves and blood vessels of the musician."
TAGESSPIEGEL, Berlin, 2/96

"ONE OF THE BEST GUITARISTS OF OUR TIME...the musician cast a spell over his audience from the first note...Lucas comes with ten fingers, six strings, and an overpowering sound."
ESSEN ZEITUNG, 2/96

"LUCAS, OUR FAVORITE GUITAR GENIUS...a guaranteed good time in just about any context. His own songs are slyly insinuating with a catchy folk edge and intriguing lyrics."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, 3/94 and 5/94

"LUCAS - THE FOURTH DIMENSION GUITARIST...all listeners who were present were in ecstasy with Lucas...Lucas was like a noble illusion who discovered the fourth dimension of space. His performance was a cross-section of all creation."
DENNI TELEGRAF, Prague, 2/96

"GUITAR EXPLODES LIKE A WHOLE ORCHESTRA...the more the audience reacts enthusiastically on Lucas' genius ideas, the crazier he treats their ears to beautiful/wonderful soundscapes."
MITTELDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG, 2/96

"GUITAR WHIRLIGIG...one of the city's more intrepid guitarists...Lucas, the living riff-encyclopedia."
VILLAGE VOICE, 5/94 and 8/94

"VIRTUOSIC AND IMAGINATIVE...Lucas closed the concert with firebreathing solo performances."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 3/92

"FIVE STARS...LUCAS TRIUMPHANT...three encores later, the crowd demanded more. If Lucas hadn't agreed to a second set, all hell would have broken loose."
TORONTO NOW, 7/92

"BLISTERING...the best intoxicants we'd get all night were pouring off the stage."
VILLAGE VOICE, 11/92

"A GUITAR AND TECHNO MARVEL...also, most importantly, a great off the cuff entertainer."
"HE PLAYS LIKE A THUNDERSTORM over a 'Bladerunner' landscape."
MELODY MAKER, UK, 1/92
(BEST OF THE WEEK - BERLIN INDEPENDENCE DAYS)

"HURRAH FOR ACE WHIZZ GARY LUCAS."
NEW MUSICAL EXPRESS, UK, 11/92

"ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST BRILLIANT GUITAR PLAYERS..."
HITS, 8/89

"THE MOST INNOVATIVE ELECTRIC GUITARIST SINCE JIMI HENDRIX...AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS."
SOUNDS LIKE..., Spring '90

"A PARATROOPER AMONG GUITARISTS...a journey through the history of pop music...the term 'solo concert' does not do justice to this performance."
DE VOLKSKRANT, Netherlands, 4/90

"GARY LUCAS REALIZED THE IMPOSSIBLE."
DE VOLKSKRANT, Netherlands, 5/91

"WILD GUITAR FIREWORKS...whirlwind on strings...powerful sound...magical...Lucas knows how create a mood...a fountain of ideas...IT IS LUCAS!"
BERLIN MORGENPOST, 11/88

"A GUITARIST OF 1,000 IDEAS...a gifted guitarist...Mr. Lucas takes real liberties with the music, makes it jump and entertain with unexpected stops and starts and irreverent, jolting left turns...Mr. Lucas' rock- steady steamroller drive kept the music on track...the work of a fertile imagination."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 7/88

CONCERT OF THE MONTH, Prinz, 3/93; numerous VOICE Choices; VOICE centerfold spread, 8/91; BOSTON PHOENIX pick, 3/90