This is an unusual set. It includes a brand new studio album from Nicolas Meier World Group as the first disc. The second is a solo set from Meijer. The final CD is a live album from the World Group. I always include Meier's stuff under progressive rock, largely for the "progressive" angle, but not the rock part. The first CD and the final one both have a lot of fusion in them, making it a pretty solid fit there, anyway since that's where we usually fit fusion. The music throughout has a lot of world sound built into it. This is quite a cool set, with a nice sampling of different textures. While the first and final discs include all original material, the solo disc has a lot of covers and interpretations.

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This starts a little tentative and stripped back but quickly grows out to energized world music with plenty of fusion in the mix. It has some soaring melodies and some exceptional musical passages. There is a sense of adventure and energy to it. This has some pretty intense jamming, and is a great opener.

While this lands more reflective and mellower, it's still packed full of a lot of charm and style. The instrumental work, while less energized, has a lot of expressive virtuosity built into it. This is a classy ride that showcases another side of the music of this act.

One on the mellower end of the spectrum, this is also more firmly set in the world music zones. That said, it still has a real fusion concept at its heart. The world jamming gets quite intense and there are some pretty dramatic shifts and turns along the road.

I really love the intricate and passionate acoustic guitar work on this song. The cut has a good balance between proggy elements and world music.

The violin on this begs comparisons to Jean-Luc Ponty at times, while some of the guitar work makes me think of Al Di Meola. This is an intense jam with both world music and fusion at its heart.

The classy fusion stylings on this are so strong. All the instrumental works seems particularly inspired.

I dig the fast-paced fusion groove of this cut a lot. It has some really intense acoustic guitar work. There is a percussion break showcase in the tune.

There is a mellow and reflective vibe to this cut. It's quite intricate, but also very pretty.

I love the energy and classy guitar groove on this number. It's a full jazz guitar treatment and features some pretty crazed playing.

This is definitely well suited to its title. It is a rather classically based guitar exploration.

Spanish styled guitar jamming is the concept here. This gets quite intense.

Yes, this is a cover of the Metallica song. I like this quite a bit, but there aren't any big surprises.

There is some killer fast-paced jazz guitar in the mix here. It has an old-school jazz vibe with some furious and frantic guitar playing.

Tasty jazz guitar stylings make up the concept of this piece.

Another intriguing and impressive acoustic guitar piece, this is not a big change, but it is effective.

The fusion and world elements work together very well on this intense piece of music.

The world music concepts here really drive this thing. It does have a bit of a cafe vibe to it.

There is definitely a classy middle-eastern vibe here. The number works into some soaring fusion zones further down the road. The rhythm section takes control from there, building in intensity as it holds it. The world music really drives it as it evolves.

I dig the world music meets jazz feeling of this cut a lot. It's an energetic and entertaining piece. It gets very intense before it's done.

While this is less frantic and more melodic, it's no less compelling. The world music meets fusion concept really works particularly well on this one. It's one of my favorites from this live set. It gets faster paced and more intense as it works through later.

There is a prominent percussive element to this. The world music concepts are the big driving factor on the piece. There is a definite Indian music vibe. It works toward more soaring fusion-like sounds as it evolves.

The world music is the predominate element on this number, but it does have fusion in the mix, too. It's melodic and energized, and there is a percussion workout late in the piece.

More purely world music based, this has some killer Spanish guitar and much more in the mix. It also begins mellower and eventually works outward from there. At nearly nine-and-a-half-minutes long, this is an epic piece. It's also a smoking hot one that makes a great closer.