On "The Shadow" you get a nice earful of Sherman sounding very, very Dixie Dregs and pulling it off effortlessly. Well-done Morse indeed. Sherman has got Morse's percussive/muted legato attack and ascending lead riff down like no other guitarist I've ever heard. (Sorry, Liquid Tension Experiment, Ben's better.) Fine acoustic guitar work with Manring style bass breaks the rock flow on "Horizons".

On the next cut, "Hour of the Wolf" Sherman mixes it up with electric and acoustic guitars and lounge jazz piano that is cut into by that Satriani/Vai/Montrose clarity and dynamics. Mellow guitars and piano return to finish the track out. A very tastefully done ramble through the dimly lit ivory and frets.

We get rockin' in a Satriani Not of this Earth mood on "Countdown" that carries you off into a wide oceanside break that then careens across the dunes throwing sand into the night breezes. Crank it up Ben! Crystalline crisp chords wash over you in the spray of this wild ride towards the nighttime liftoff. More Satriani styled styling comes out in "Nightmare On Church Street." It is an ominous rocking, cruisin' tune, kinda ballad with plenty of pyrotechnic attacks and releases to get you through the next caution light ahead.

"Last Best Hope" reminded me of Holdsworth meets Andy Summers and Bill Connors but not with a blinding fury of notes -- just rocking out as in Holdsworth's vinyl- release-only Road Games. This was a nice jazzy upbeat jam. My type of stuff!!

On the title track, "First Light" we come way down, a leaf drifting on a late, Fall twilight's wafting whisper of coming winter, an acoustic delight in that Alex De Grassi/Will Ackerman spirit. Ah, sweet finale. Recommened stuff here.