Eddie Van Halen, Keith Richards, Tony Iommi, John Petrucci and now Adrian Belew. All talented guitar players whose careers accelerated faster than the public could bestow credit.

Most folks wouldn’t know vocalist/guitarist Adrian Belew by name, but they would recognize the bands/artists he’s played with and albums he’s played on: Frank Zappa, David Bowie, King Crimson, Talking Heads, Bears; Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” Nine Inch Nails’ “The Downward Spiral” and “The Fragile,” Jars of Clay and more.

Between rehearsals for the new King Crimson lineup last year, Belew found time to write and record three solo albums to be released in 2005. And showing just how deep his “black book o’ musician friends” goes, he recruited Primus bassist Les Claypool and Tool drummer Danny Carey for the first and third records, titled “Side One” and “Side Three,” respectively.

I must point out that Sanctuary Records neglects to mention that Belew’s superfriends don’t appear on the entire album, rather only on the two best tracks detailed below. (Coincidence? I don’t think so.) And unlike the Trey Anastasio/Claypool collab’s Oysterhead, these superfriends won’t be touring in support of the album either. Instead Belew will give two up-and-comers (Rich Hubner on bass and Mark Nemer on drums) a chance, just like Frank Zappa gave him many years back. Rehearsals are taking place as we go to press.

Although “Side One” comes in just shy of 30 minutes, Belew packs his signature guitar licks into a wide range of genres and tempos for his first power-trio album.

“In a power trio, you almost have to overplay,” says Belew. “It forces ingenuity and puts a lot of pressure on each player, but I enjoy that. What’s challenging as the vocalist and guitarist is that sometimes I am triggering guitar loops while I’m playing. We call it ‘belewps.’ I’m my own rhythm guitar player!”

The opening track “Ampersand” starts with a slow guitar wail, Claypool’s standard but unique bass intro and Carey’s typical Toolish tribal drum beats into an angular “The Who-esque” track that ends in a muddled mess of distortion and improvisation.

“Writing on the Wall,” a fierce funk-rocker reminiscent of early-’80s-era King Crimson is another favorite track, although I think Belew may want to commission a fourth band member to write lyrics for the next album. He does better with tracks like “Beat Box Guitar” that rely on melody for artistic expression rather than vocals.

After decades in the industry with little name recognition, I’m not sure “Side One” will earn Adrian Belew the credit he’s due, but it’s a good start.