A primal Jazz influence drives the disc, bringing to mind some of the jazz greats, Gillespie, Bird, Miles and the like. They too served up their jazz in a similar way, using memorable melodies to entice the listener. Then injecting their own brand of far out/experimental jazz so the listener never knew what hit them. This made the music accessible to everyone from the casual listener to the hardcore fan. Patrick too mixes some very avant writing and playing with memorable melodies allowing the inexperienced ear to follow his every thought. The experienced listener will need no such advantage to spot the gift this player possesses. Traditionally I reserve the term extremist for metal/shred players. But Patrick certainly qualifies as an extremist, stretching the boundaries of his craft and genre beyond traditional limits, raising the standard several notches.

This CD quickly became one of my favorite guitar CDs, then just as quickly it became one of my favorite CDs period.... Beyond all the technical virtuosity and addictive songs this CD is just plain fun! With sort of a celebratory vibe and party atmosphere throughout, your friends could get out of control. I had it playing when I had some friends over and three of the wives started dancing together (the three glasses of wine didn't help). Depending on your friends, this could be a good thing. The point is this disc just invokes a sense of joy that well,.....can actually get out of control. You just can't listen to Power Fields and not feel better! And if you're already feeling great, Patrick can't be held responsible for the effects!

Power Fields features Patrick on 6 string acoustic guitar and the 10 string electric treblebass. A guitar that has six guitar strings and four bass strings. It's similar to a harp guitar except the bass has frets. So instead of being plucked open like a harp, it's played as a bass. What I had expected was a bass line to simply accompany the guitar part. Yea right! Simply a bass line was not what this technician had in mind. Any extremist would simply not stand for that. So Patrick commits an all out assault on the listener with a bottom end that'll have you shakin' your bottom end! I found myself occasionally concentrating on the certifiably wicked bass line. And then it would hit me...this guys also playing this intricate and challenging, impossible to most, guitar part at the same time. That's right Patrick is not only laying down two independent lines at once. But musically the lines are often in two different directions, a light spacious guitar part with a driving relentless funk bass line. It's like two energy's crashing and creating a new unstoppable force.

The songs on 6 string acoustic guitar are just as exciting and percussive. Whether playing with a bass slapping style or tapping on the body of his guitar to add even more power to the force, this unique player does so much more than simply accompany himself. He creates two (sounds like three sometimes) independent lines, sounding astonishingly like two separate musicians, making Patrick two of my favorite instrumentalists. There are spots on this CD where it challenges logic that it could bo one instrument, one instrumentalist, at one time. Technically I put this guy among the greats of all genres!! You think you know, but you don't know....When Jimi asked "Are You Experienced?" this is what he was talking about!

"I Can Drive" an energetic song that was my first introduction to the treblebass and what this skilled player could do with it. If Patrick is driving I'll kick in for gas!

"Machine Gun Dance" is a happy jazz dynamo that slows only to wind up again (very hot jazz alert).

"Morning Wind" is a beautiful step toward contemporary jazz and is the first track played on the 6 string guitar. That this is really one man on one guitar played at one time with no overdubs challenges the realms of possibility. Unbelievable man!

"Time And Fire" is a very radio friendly song. I can picture this track on contemporary jazz/guitar radio.

"Joker In The Deck" is an all out nitro-injected rocket ride to somewhere no other guitarist can take you. This track is so over the top that your mind may need to rest after listening to it. I would walk a hundred miles, in the snow, up hill all the way... barefoot, just to see this song performed live. The mental imagery alone is boggling.

"Urban Underground" is the first track where I really had to work to pay attention to the guitar part. Patrick's bass line becomes bombastic on this song, laying down a groove deep enough to climb into.

"Crossing The Styx" is another radio friendly song. It's a beautiful song that starts out with a distant feel and ends up happy and free. A powerful tune!

"Magellan's Warning" has a spacious feel despite how busy Patrick is throughout the song. This crafty player creates both vastness and space through the use of more.

"Inertia Island" has a hypnotic indian blues sound. A jaw dropping performance of a composition that is nothing short of a masterpiece. At a little over 7 minutes long there's plenty of time for Patrick to jam beneath the wicked and addictive hook that drives this song. Simply amazing... I kept hoping that inertia would keep this song going forever!

"Nuclear Power Surge" is an incredible freestyle influenced song, that boggles the mind and challenges the imagination. I still discover things in this song no matter how many times I hear it. Imaginative, creative... I'm still absorbing it.

"Lights Of The Burning City" is a beautiful song with a calming opiate like affect. This song brings a smile of joy to my face every time I listen. After hearing this track I started to get the feeling that I have just experienced greatness at both it's simplest and most complex.

"Far From Home" is an aural dreamscape. The pristine beauty of this song speaks to the heart and soul, slowing the senses, causing you to fall into an altered state of awareness. Closing my eyes heightens the experience to euphoric. This was the track that made me fall in love with this CD. Of course I will admit the other tracks had already started a real infatuation.

With danceable songs to motivate the body, blistering guitar work to stimulate the mind and aural dreamscapes to cleanse the heart and soul, there is no human emotion left unaffected by "Power Fields".