what can be said about this body of work? I guess all I can say is if you have an ass and you understand what music is then this gift of song will shred your ass. thanks Beller and all involved, waiting for more..... Liam T
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This is awesome fusion; not to slick, flirting with heavier stuff, melodies, weird enough to make sense - in the early 70:th there was a label called JazzRock ( Mclaughlin, Beck, Clarke etc ), thats the vibes that comes to my mind
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Both title and cover of View, the solo-debut from Bryan Beller are perfectly chosen. You see, the CD displays Beller’s versatile and broad vision on jazz-rock, on which his background (he played amongst others with Mike Keneally and James Labrie’s Mullmuzzler) certainly has been of influence. View contains, next to tasty whipping on fusion-tacks more or less in the raw seventies-style, with leading roles for the guitar-work of Rick Musallam, Griff Peters and Keneally, subtle progressive pieces, with amongst others a suddenly turning up string-trio, and beautiful ballads, in which the bassist also shows his skills on keyboards. In the sung tracks Bite and Projectile the company also proves that the grunge-style lends itself very well to be played in a jazz-rock manner. Finally View contains the almost inevitable bass-solo-tracks; four times Beller takes the listener with him to the lower regions, from which is proven that he has integrated his influences (amongst others Michael Manring, Stanley Clarke and John Patitucci, from whom he covered Backwoods) very well into an own sound. By the way, the music for this album has been recorded by no one less than Nick D’Virgilio and although he can’t be admired from behind the drums this time (that seat is being taken by Joe Travers and Toss Panos), he makes himself heard as one of the background-vocalists in Bite.
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For the musically adventurous listener interested in life beyond top 40, Bryan Beller's debut solo album View provides a serious alternative to alternative. 

Those familiar with Bryan Beller will know that he's an entirely accomplished bass player, having been involved in some of the most challenging and origional music being made today, as a sideman to Mike Keneally and various other artists. Check out his website, http://www.bryanbeller.com/ for more details. 

Naturally, View has some excellent bass playing on it, but it's a treat to hear that Bryan's songwriting skills are mature enough to extend beyond the bass. This album features a wonderful host of dangerously talented studio musicians to help flesh things out in that respect. 

The diversity of the music on this disc is noteable - from quieter solo acoustic and electric bass compositions (Bear Divide, Elate, Backwoods, No) to more raucous jazz fusion arrangements (Seven Percent Grade, Supermarket People, Get Things Done, See You Next Tuesday) to more delicate band arrangements (Eighteen Weeks, View) to the almost-but-not-quite-Steely Dan-esque song (Wildflower), to heavier alternativesque rock tunes (Bite, Projectile). While most of the disc is instrumental, there are some vocal tunes (Bite, Projectile, Wildflower). 

We knew that Bryan can play (viciously, if necessary), but now it seems that he's an artist in his own right. View is a tastefully written professional quality recording with top notch musicianship. Personally, I'd rate this album as a 13. I'm not sure what the scale is, or what the rating actually means - perhaps it's simply the number of tracks on the disc.
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