Along with
Greg Howe,
Tony MacAlpine was the only other African-American guitarist on the Shrapnel roster in the '80s. As with the other artists on the label during this era,
MacAlpine was certainly "fleet-fingered on the fretboard" -- in other words, he could solo extremely fast over a heavy metal accompaniment.
MacAlpine has issued albums for the label on a somewhat regular basis over the years (save for 1987-1991), and that is precisely what the 2006 compilation
Tony MacAlpine Collection: The Shrapnel Years focuses on. Although some passed him off as being too influenced by
Yngwie Malmsteen on his early solo releases,
MacAlpine later began specializing in
Joe Satriani-esque instrumentals, which is what
Collection focuses on. Standouts include the title track from his 1986 solo debut, Edge of Insanity (which saw
MacAlpine backed by a highly skilled rhythm section -- bassist
Billy Sheehan and drummer
Steve Smith), as well as a pair of tracks from his 2001 release,
Chromaticity -- the title track and "Christmas Island." While
MacAlpine continues to issue solo albums on his own, he can be seen nowadays as a member of
Steve Vai's solo band, where -- interestingly -- he usually favors playing keyboards over the six-string. ~ Greg Prato