Haven't heard any of Mike's solo stuff but i thought he absolutely rocked out the G3 feat. EJ.
Yeah not many players can pull off the Attitude Song doubling that convincingly, and play the keyboard parts. I prefer his tone to McAlpine's. Plus he has a cool hat.
His own stuff is very interesting - less shredding, more interesting melodies, tones and arrangements. Has a fair bit of Zappa's influence, more than Vai, but some common ground too, If you know what to listen for. More singing too, although not everyone will like his voice - like Adrian Belew's voice (another ex-Zappa guitarist/singer), it's an acquired taste. Also like Belew, he can get quite experimental and does some surprising "pop with a twist" stuff.
