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Vol. 14, No. 4: Jun.-Jul. 2009
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| Neil Zaza "Staring At The Sun": Independent Review
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Neil Zaza
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Review of "Staring At The Sun"
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By: Wayne Klinger
haven't quite figured out why all these Nuerra releases are being sent to me now and all are from 1999. I shouldn't really care cuz they all were great! Neil Zaza meets the quote I like from Scene Magazine with people always talking about "Satch" and Vai and that Zaza would be included in that sentence because he's that good. After 57 minutes of listening to this guy wail and shred,do ballads and blues..HELL YEAH! I agree.
What also makes this CD cool is the rhythm section from Journey are on here; Steve Smith and Ross Valory. We also have special guest for 1 or 2 tracks like Michael Lee Firkins, Stu Hamm and Robin DiMaggio. Neil must be a complete workaholic doing 145 touring days and working with Peavey when "Sing" was released which was a pretty good CD (thanks Ken for lending that to me!) to me but doesn't quite compare to the tenacity of this one. Very crafty songs, fret-busting songs like "Zen Karma.." and the lightning fast finger-tapping on a few others that make him identifiable despite already covering the "Satch"/Vai styles. Zaza's compositions alone make him unseperable with enigmatic timings and structures; a feast for the ears and to make things even more interesting, a cover of Van Morrison's "Crazy Love" and Prince's "Purple Rain" and remember, no vocals! Go gaga for Zaza!
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Wayne Klinger / Quintessence
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