Though the music is upbeat and lively, the style is laid back and inviting more than aggressive. The arrangements have a classic feel to them with the tactful chord progressions, enlightening musical themes, and jazzy phrasings that keep the music constantly moving and interesting. The tonality and rhythms are interesting and involved, but keep within accessible boundaries without going astray into the far reaches of abstract outer space. Theriot deploys some compelling outside runs and themes from exotic jazz scales that are gracefully woven into his widely scoped arrangements. Theriot's leadwork is also tactful with an emphasis on its place in the overall soundscape rather than guitar domination of the sonic constituency. Theriot strikes an interesting balance between his savvy guitar work and the host of supporting players offer an excellent canvas for Theriot. But, fusion fans of the guitar-centric variety need not worry, because there is plenty of quality guitar work put forth by Theriot to makes for an enjoyable and entertaining listen. Neel's keyboard work is also notable throughout with a consistent, well-integrated effort that provides a satisfying contrast to Theriot.

If you are a fan of tactful fusion that strives to capture the listener's attention and imagination with thoughtful, tasty playing rather than to enslave the listener with an onslaught of overwhelming instrumental pyrotechnics, then Shane Theriot's release, The Grease Factor, is something worth checking out. Theriot has achieved an excellent balance between diverse listener accessibility, compositional savvy, flavorful stylisms, savory musical ideas, and well-integrated production on this release. Theriot's sense for musical style will undoubtedly make this album accessible to a wide audience that will not be limited to fusion fans because Theriot targets the listeners moreso than the technicians, and with good results. But, educated listeners will certainly appreciate Theriot's musical depth and the manner in which he adapts it to a universally accessible format while keeping consistent musical intensity that hits a good groove, track after track. Theriot has produced a superb album for enjoyable listening while giving enough substance for the guitar technicianry dogs to knaw on for a long time while pondering the duality of his musicality and technicianry.

Theriot is pressing hard at the gates of the world class arena with this release. Stylistically, it seems Theriot has distinguished himself as a world class player and jazz / fusion composer on this release that reinforces his abilities that he demonstrated on Highway 90.