The musical history of Chris Poland starts somewhere at the end of the seventies when he started out a successful fusion band in Los Angeles. But the most of you rockers probably will know him as one of the first guitarists of Megadeth. After recording successful Megadeth classics as “Killing is my Business….And Business is good” and “Peace Sells but who`s Buying” Chris left the band after a world tour in 1987 to focus on his solo career. After a his first solo release “Return to Metapolis” he did several other projects when he decided to put his energy in the “Jam for Jason (Becker)” benefit with guitarists as Vinnie Moore and Steve Morse. Now in 2001 he releases some of his “rare” tracks recorded between `94 and `99. So what can we expect? Well, Megadeth fans no heavy metal but a combination between fusion, blues, and hard rock. Although I have to tell that Chris has a leading part with his characteristic guitar sound. It’s that kind of sound which more guitarists from that area have (L.

A.). But I have to admit that this release even sounds interesting without the usual vocals. His guitar playing is diverse enough to keep my attention. Sometimes he really strands in his long solos, but in his case that doesn’t matter. For instance: The great tension curve at the end of “Interference Blues”. Or “Alphabet City” which could have been the title track for The Godfather 2001. He also uses some acoustic guitars for some classical solos. On the other hand “Chasing the Sun” also got some more progressive songs like “Hip Hop Karma” and “Straight Jacket”. I guess this would have something to do with the 5 years between the different recordings. No this certainly has become a diverse release full of musical craftsmanship. To convince you: Listen to the renaissance influenced “Songs for Paul”. To end this release Chris even added three live-songs (A dedication to Jimmy included (“Sand Castles”)).