Edge of the World

The story goes something like this: when longtime guitarist completed work on his solo debut, 1997's , (his label at the time) suggested that "younger players" might be better suited to perform on some of the album's rhythm tracks. But the original rhythm section for the album was certainly not your average bunch, as it was comprised of bassist and drummer -- two players often considered to be among the best at their respective instruments. Although some of their playing was erased on the aforementioned , the - trio laid down a vast amount of tracks, as another entire album's worth of material lay in the vaults. And since both and both passed away in the ensuing years after the release of , these tracks held even greater significance, as they were among the last studio recordings to feature either player. As a result, finally dusted off the tracks and released them in 2006, under the title of . The end result is an album that is more melodic than the average release, and one that focuses mostly on 's riffs and 's thunderous drumming rather than 's bass dexterity. Additionally, 's vocals certainly won't be mistaken for 's anytime soon, but they're certainly not cringe-worthy, either. There's also an unmistakably '80s feel to the proceedings, as evidenced by the nifty Casio keyboard-sounding break in and also which sounds like a track straight out of an episode of . From a curiosity standpoint, should appeal to fans of the album's three players -- just don't expect , Pt. 2. ~ Greg Prato