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Along with the acknowledgments printed on the cover, Russ Freeman is quick to point out that it has been over 15 years since his last solo album. But considering his lion's share of the writing and arranging credits on recent Rippington releases, I'm not sure just how "inside" the fusion guitarist has had to confine his work (to quote from Freeman's notes, "People started encouraging me to 'step out' more and play more guitar, hence, this album"). 

Frankly, even the most indelible fan won't be able to distinguish the difference. While "Drive" does feature more illustrations of Freeman's influential strengths in octave chording, clean notation and bluesy bends, it's not as if the fretman has abandoned his penchant for mellifluous grooves or bustling melodies. Instead of venturing into darker moods or drawing from other musical genres, Freeman plays this one very safe. From his airy touch- that transforms into hard rock string pulls and back around again- during the opening "Guitarland" and the slow, cascading chording of "Soul Dance" to the painstaking recreation of Don Henley's "Boys Of Summer" (right down to those suspended "twangs" in the chorus), the congenial guitarist uses the solo opportunity to "settle in" rather than "step out." In fact, Freeman's sound is so stylized that anything from "Drive" would be easily interchangeable with any other Rippingtons' track- past, present or forseeable future. For Freeman's fans only.