Sometimes when a slickly presented press package drops through the letterbox, the carefully executed blurb is no more than a thin disguise of the weak content that is surely to follow on the CD. But from the soulful acoustic bass guitar opener, "Bear Divide", to the manic "See You Next Tuesday", bassist Bryan Beller's first solo outing dispels all my fears.

View is an insight into the many roles Beller can perform. As a sideman with Steve Vai and Mike Keneally, his credits are well established. "Seven Percent Grade" shows that charging fingerstyle fusion is as comfortable for the bassist as a fine rock riff. Beller mentions Zeppelin's riff meister, John Paul Jones, and both "Bite" and "See You Next Tuesday" show he can rock with the best, especially on the latter which has a scorching rock riff interspersed with crazed harmonics and furious walking basslines. Inventive solo pieces such as "Elate" & "No" show that Beller isn't going to fall into any clichés either.

Inventive and creative, View still manages to end up as a complete and compelling album, which I'm still enjoying right now.

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© 2003 Bass Media Ltd. Reprinted from the November/December 2003 issue of BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE (U.K.) For subscription information, please call +44 (0) 1404 841793 or e-mail subs@bassguitarmagazine.com.