Powers of Ten is the first studio album by guitarist Shawn Lane, released in 1992 through Warner Bros. Records.[1] A second edition was reissued in 1993, with a revised track listing and alternate versions of "Get You Back" and "West Side Boogie" (both of which were included as bonus tracks on the 2006 reissue through Eye Reckon Records). In a 2009 article by Guitar World magazine, Powers of Ten was ranked seventh on the all-time top ten list of shred albums.[2]
Jas Obrecht at Guitar Player praised Powers of Ten as "a solo album in the truest sense. ... The immaculate articulations of 'Gray Pianos Flying' will awe shred-heads, while 'Epilogue (for Lisa)' ... displays the guitarist's more tender side."[3]
Daniel Gioffre at AllMusic called the album "uneven and frustrating". Among his criticisms were the lack of a full band (Lane performed all the instruments himself on most tracks), the "egregious misstep" of using programmed drums, and the "long and meandering" keyboard pieces "Powers of Ten: Suite" and "Piano Concertino: Transformation of Themes"; the latter tracks he noted as interrupting the momentum established in the album's first half. He nonetheless called most of the songs "pleasant enough" and praised Lane as a "phenomenally talented" guitarist and musician.[1]
All music is composed by Shawn Lane, except where noted