Nine Short Films

by Gary HillThe two musicians featured on this album, Terry Bozzio and Billy Sheehan, have been featured on over 100 albums. That is a pretty remarkable accomplishment, and one that would lead to high expectations for the quality of the disc. Well, Bozzio and Sheehan sure know how to deliver, and not in a generic and expected way either. They have produced an album that really does come quite close to defying definition. The title is perhaps quite appropriate, as much of the music seems to have a cinematic texture, telling a story in much the same way as a film would. The title loses a little of its relevance in that there are ten, not nine tracks here, but listeners can give them that one. Truth be told, this fine album seems to cover a lot of varied styles and textures, entertaining the whole way through. The sounds on the album seem to vary from Zappa-ish to Crimson-esque to Peter Gabriel-inspired all the way to modes that call to mind the Police, with little that falls between left untouched. This one will most likely surprise you, but should certainly thrill you, too.