STRESSFEST

is is one of the best jazz/rock fusion recordings I have ever heard(remember, this is a totally instrumental recording). Steve Morse plays with impeccable ferocity, wonderful style, versatility, and emotion. "Stressfest" is one of my favorite Steve Morse CD's. Plain and simply, this CD really rocks! The Steve Morse Band consists of Steve Morse on guitars, Dave La Rue on bass guitar, and Van Romaine on drums. I absolutely love Steve Morse's playing on this CD. This is one of the tightest sounding trios around today. My favorite tracks from the CD follow.

The title track, "Stressfest", starts out the recording. What can I say? It is an incredible tune, with Steve playing dizzying arpeggios, flurrying up and down the guitar with the speed of light. 64th notes abound in this song! Fast and furious, the song goes on for about 5 minutes.

The next favorite one is the next track on the CD entitled "Rising Power". This one is a bit slower in tempo, but has a really nice heavy rock feel to it. There is a very nice bass guitar solo featured in the middle by the mighty Dave La Rue, who's sound is as distinctive as Steve's.

Probably the track with the most emotion and feeling is "Eyes of a Child". Slow, melodic, and rythymic, it is a highly reflective track, and also one of my favorites.

Take my word for it, if you have never heard of Steve Morse, do yourself and check this CD out! If you are going to purchase just one Steve Morse recording, get this one!