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	The face of the bass Unlike Freerider, one quality Kevin O'Reilly has is originality. His CDs feature his bass guitar and not much else. There have been plenty of solo pianists and guitarists, but not many solo bassists. So before he even plays a note, the Bethel-based O'Reilly wins points for being different. On his latest CD, "The View from Left Field," six of 11 songs feature just his bass and some effects. While he's risking alienating many people who don't want to hear bass solo after bass solo, O'Reilly is smart enough to vary his sound by adding other instruments and occasionally playing with a full band. More importantly, he has enough musical ideas to make his music work as more than just a demonstration of his skills. And skills he has. From the first track on, he proves he's a great bassist. But what makes his work so powerful is his way with melody. With just his bass, he can layer melodic idea on top of melodic idea, with a style that mixes jazz, rock, funk and a touch of new age. The solo songs are uniformly fascinating, intelligent and powerful. But the more instruments he adds, the more ordinary his work seems. Still, "The View From Left Field" is a good record that will appeal to any adventurous listener.   Kevin O'Reilly's "The View From Left Field" is available at local music stores.