Too Old To Rock

"Too Old To Rock is the brainchild of guitarists Jim Reindel and Chris Hattingh. Although the cover of the CD looks deceptive, the included music is of a very high level. The music performed on ‘Too Dumb To Quit" is very impressive, high quality instrumental melodic rock/hardrock with some progressive rock influences here and there. The best songs are “Shuffleboard Champs”, “Bingo Night At Emily’s”, “Pass The Geritol”, “Too Dumb To Quit” and “Goodbye Spandex” (very good!). The guitar duels between Jim and Chris work well, so all I can add here is that every fan of instrumental melodic rock/hardrock/prog should check out this release." - Gabor Fabian, Strutter'zine

"new project from G5 Summit guitar God Chris Hattingh. 12 tracks of Blues, Hard Rock, Metal with some "tongue-in-cheek" humor with the song titles and one of the greatest guitar solos I've heard since "Eruption" and Lynch's intro to "Mr.Scary" on "Beast From The East"...this is called "Arthritic Shredfest" and well put!!! This whole CD is just a shredfest in general but shows alot of other things Hattingh can do on the guitar and he's so freakin' clean when he plays. Fans of Petrucci, Moore, Yngwie, Gilbert, Howe and MacAlpine will want this CD pronto!" - Wayne Klinger, Quintessence

"Just by looking at the cover of Too Old Too Rock's "Too Dumb Too Quit" I was beginning to question why I took this particular Rough Edge writing gig. Featured prominently on the cover of Too Old Too Rock's debut "Too Dumb Too Quit" is a picture of two old guys, one with a banjo and one with a guitar, "rocking out" while resting on a wooden bench with their feet on a milk crate. And the songs titles weren't helping me out either (example: "Bingo Night At Emily's").
    But, as I often find out, it's not a good idea to judge a CD by its cover (or its song titles).
    The music contained on Too Old Too Rock's "Too Dumb Too Quit" is pure guitar-based instrumentals - just my kind of thing. "Too Dumb Too Quit" covers a wide swath of styles and moods. What shines through the most is the ability of the guitarist duo of Jim Reindel and Chris Hattingh to vary the tempos, styles, and moods throughout the entire disc. Occasionally, some obvious influences creep in, but I think that is the nature of instrumentals - it's damn near impossible to escape one's influences especially when there aren't any vocals to add to the overall experience. Not that I'm complaining or anything.
    "Shuffleboard Champs" is a perfect intro to Too Old Too Rock - this up-tempo number is filled with burning energy. "Arthritic Shredfest" is like a Vai-Van Halen crossbred, caffeinated, supercharged monster that never lets up. "Dance Of The Coffin Dodgers" and "Second Mortgage Blues" have the sort of mellow "surfing" sounds made so popular by Joe Satriani. The Michael Schenker-ism in "Pass The Geritol" pay homage to the guitar great that has influenced countless hundreds of guitar shredders. Even the sweet sounds of the bluesy Eric Johnson can be heard on the high flying "Senior Citizen Boogie."
    The arrangements are just left-of-center enough to keep guitar fanatics interested at all times, but no so wacky as to lose the interest of the casual fan. The geriatric theme is a neat little curveball that kept me guessing until I'd actually plopped the CD in for a studious listen. The biggest downfall of this recording is the drums - more often than not the drums are simply a "click track" and a very loud one at that. It's a minor detraction (and distraction), but one that needs mentioning. At the end of these twelve tracks of guitar instrumentals you'll be impressed, not overwhelmed - and that's a good way to feel at the end of an instrumental CD.
    "Too Dumb Too Quit" was produced by Too Old Too Rock. For an independent release the quality of the recording is phenomenal. Too Old Too Rock is Jim Reindel on acoustic and electric guitars and Chris Hattingh on acoustic and electric guitars, bass, and drums." - Christopher J Kelter, RoughEdge.com

"Too Old To Rock is actually the duo of guitarists Chris Hattingh (also drums and bass) and Jim Reindel, and they give fans of artists like Tony McAlpine, David T. Chastain, Joe Satriani, Eddie Van Halen, and the likes a reason to celebrate. This record is a non-stop full on guitar assault. Not since the tag team glory days of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing have I heard such intense "shredding"!
Of course, since Chris Hattingh is involved, the record sounds great, but these 12 instrumental dittys were written and executed to perfection as well. To me, the stand out track is "Arthritic Shredfest", which is very reminiscent of Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" from "Van Halen I". Anyway, this record has enough “guitarnuts" to satisfy not only your garden variety rock fan, but even the pickiest guitar freaks, too. It’s refreshing to know that there are still master musicians out there making this kind of quality rock. God bless 'em!" - Chris Long, Brevard Live Review

"From the tongue-in-cheek song titles and the front cover of this CD, I thought this was some sort of joke or novelty album. Nothing could be further from the truth. This band, from Florida U.S.A., consists of only 2 members, Jim Reindel, guitars and Chris Hattingh, guitars, bass and drums. Their debut album is a whirlwind of bluesy hard rock and progressive rock guitar which even has metal like qualities due to the shredding leads and guitar riffs. The production is fairly basic as far as the drums and bass go, allowing for the amazing guitar talent of both of these men to be front and center. This album may not appeal to everyone especially if you don't like instrumental albums, but myself, also being a guitar player, I love this stuff, especially when it's done as well as it is here.
    Solos are split 50/50 between the two guitarists and an amazing example of this can be found on Arthritic Shredfest (love the song titles!!). It's an eight minute song that for the first half, is nothing more than a pure Eddie Van Halen Eruption style ripping solo lead guitar. Speed picking, dive-bombs etc., it's all here and I love the way that the finger tapping section fades out only to have the other guitarist fade in doing the same thing before ripping into his full on assault. The lead playing by both these guys is simply out of this world. Their speed and technical skills shine on every single track. The actual shredding and speed picking is not overdone thankfully, instead, these 2 individuals prefer to write very thematic and hook laden material. Expressive and touching melodic solos on some of the tracks really bring Joe Satriani to mind whereas influences from Michael Schenker and Eddie Van Halen are evident on some of the more rockier up-tempo material. The leads are very smooth, very, very precise and become the voices for the songs. This is one of the few instrumental guitar albums that you really don't miss the vocals.
    If you're looking for variety, this album has plenty. Songs range from mid-tempo rockers to laid back acoustically driven songs with a few blistering and almost metal-like tracks. Each track has a unique feel and quality to it that is a result of the leads and melodic hooks that are so prominent throughout. Every song has elements that grab you right from the start and manages to keep your interest, something that can be quite rare with these sorts of albums. Some of the riffing has Rush like qualities to it with these two gentlemen obviously being influenced by the playing of Alex Lifeson. A few tracks employ more chunkier guitar riffs giving a harder-edged sound and some wonderful Led Zeppelin style acoustic melodies and lead passages grace a couple of the tracks. Fans of Joe Satriani will almost certainly like this album as there is a familiarity in the style and structure of the songs.
    Guitars have a voice, some hear it, some don't. When great guitarists play a solo, it's like their guitar is singing, with the song coming straight from the heart of the person playing it. Nothing is more melodic or beautiful sounding. There are many examples of this heart-felt, spine-tingling lead playing on every single track on this album. One could go over every inch of this album, phrase by phrase, solo by solo, but there's not enough space for that! Suffice to say that if you like instrumental albums (especially guitar based) or just like to hear enough great lead guitar playing for 10 albums, pick this one up for sure (Lots of ear candy!!). This is quite simply one of the best instrumental guitar albums I've ever heard. Well done guys......I can't wait for the second album and some more craziness........." - Marty, MetalReviews.com

"I usually shy away from reviewing instrumental albums, but since I wanted to have this one included in the last update of the year, I didn't send it to our resident (evil) Widdlymaister Bandi. Besides, this CD amused me even before I had played it, as the song titles are some of the funniest I've seen. They all follow the theme of "Too Old To Rock", so you'll get songs like "Bingo Night At Emily's", "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow" and "Viagra Falls". Not to mention that the cover features two elderly "axemen" rockin' and rollin'. And no, "Too Old To Rock" aren't that old, Jim Reindel (gt) and Chris Hattingh (gt, bs, drs) seem to be a bit younger than the gentlemen on the cover.
"Too Dumb To Quit" is all instrumental guitar rock songs, ranging from classic rock and hard rock to more progressive stuff and acoustic ballads. My favourite tracks are the 80'ies hard rock-styled "Goodbye Spandex" (figures!), the beatiful ballad "Viagra Falls" , "Pass The Geritol" which has a Satriani-vibe to it and especially the brilliant "Bingo Night At Emily's", a pure instrumental AOR track in the vein of Journey.
All in all, a good indie instrumental release, with extra points for humour. This might have even more to offer to the guitar freaks out there, but it does have its' fair share of good tunes for the average music fan like me too." - Kimmo Toivonen, RockUnited.com

"I have no idea how old the two guys in Too Old To Rock really are, but they sure don't sound dumb. In fact, with Too Dumb To Quit, guitarist Jim Reindel and guitarist, bassist and drummer Chris Hattingh have crafted one of the best and most diverse instrumental rock albums I've heard in a long time.
Melding influences from Ted Nugent and Steve Vai, Rush and Van Halen, even Motley Crue and Poison, Too Old To Rock also have some fun with song titles. All 12 titles here indulge the aging theme - "Bingo Night at Emily's," "Dance of the Coffin Dodgers," "Shuffleboard Champs" and "Viagra Falls." "Arthritic Shredfest" and the title track are in your face with wild yet tight guitars and relentless drums. "Hair Today Gone Tomorrow" is an introspective respite that actually makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over.
If Reindel and Hattingh really are the two white-haired men on the cover of Too Dumb to Quit, dressed like tourists sitting on a park bench, where the hell have they been all this time? If they aren't, then kudos to the pair for creating an alter ego that's as fascinating as their music." - Michael Popke, Progression Magazine

"As rising energy costs force fixed-income electric guitarists to economize, our favorite rockin' geriatrics Too Old To Rock (guitarist Jim Reindel and guitarist Chris Hattingh) are back with Unplugged & Toothless - an eclectic, all-acoustic guitar extravaganza, which touches on a wide variety of styles, including, jazz, reggae, bluegrass, prog rock, southern rock, and even a Hendrix-style ballad. "Trading Braces" is a smooth jazz acoustic guitar instrumental a la Earl Klugh - perfect music for passing the time during a denture wash or analyzing annuity tables. All instrumental, it's the ideal companion to their electric CD "Too Dumb To Quit", which had octogenarians bashing their canes and AARP members revving up their power chairs to it's thunderous beat. You're never really too old to rock, so skip the senior supper at the local K&W to enjoy blazing acoustic guitars from Hattingh and Reindel. Instrumental Guitar (Acoustic/Rock/Jazz), total running time, 30:53" - Guitar9.com