According to Silicon Valley Insider, former Microsoft employee and leading light for Windows Vista has turned his hands to matters of a more musical nature.
His new record Enigma, released on iTunes this past Tuesday, is described by one reviewer as "a Claptonesque tour de force".
The product description on Amazon claims: "Allchin"s stunning debut CD is an intoxicating mix of pop/rock styles, from radio rock and pop ballads to metal and the blues - with a quick stop in the Latin Quarter along the way. An acclaimed guitarist, Allchin reveals his composing, singing, and producing skills on this impressive solo CD. He displays his virtuosity in this unexpected collection of foot-stomping blues, soaring intense guitar, and heart-wrenching ballads. Hear the songs more than once and you"re sure to be singing them."
Amazon"s price for the album on CD is US$17.99. The MP3-format version is selling for US$8.99 here (and, of course, you can hear samples of tracks there, for those without iTunes).
A New Zealander called "Geeky Grandma" offers her views on Amazon: "So far I"ve bought "Kick It", "Enigma Machine" and "I"m About To Fall". The 30 second snippets offered here don"t do any justice to the tunes, so I strongly recommend you listen to the full version first before deciding you don"t like what you"re hearing. I didn"t think I"d like "I"m About To Fall" based on what I heard in the preview offered here, but after listening to the whole song on Allchin"s website, really change my mind. I don"t know who picks the part of the tunes that becomes available on these snippets, but in this case, they seriously do not do justice to the music."
Comments from iTunes, at least those not apparently from Washington state, are not so friendly: "This is literally one of the, if not THE, worst albums I"ve heard. I"d say it"s the "Ishtar" of music, but that would be doing a grave disservice to "Ishtar". I cringe when I hear this, and I"m at a loss for words to describe why it"s so bad."