After two fruitless cracks at the mainstream market with his band Snopek, Sigmund Snopek returns to his eclectic roots with this fusion of prog rock, jazz, and scattered musical turns that defined his pre-Thinking out Loud period. This album consists of just three tracks, the opening one being... [+] Expand

After two fruitless cracks at the mainstream market with his band Snopek, Sigmund Snopek returns to his eclectic roots with this fusion of prog rock, jazz, and scattered musical turns that defined his pre-Thinking out Loud period. This album consists of just three tracks, the opening one being the 29-minute, 12-part, predominantly instrumental "Ride in the Dark," which embodies Snopek's entire career repertoire. At various stages of this piece, influences as diverse as Gentle Giant, Jeff Beck, and Steve Hackett-era Genesis surface. Sigmund Snopek's keyboard style combines the electronic noodling of Michael Hoenig and the wizardry of Patrick Moraz, but the commanding guitar of Byron Wiemann drives this lengthy track as much as Snopek's efforts. "Roy Rogers Meets Albert Einstein" is a conglomerate of jazz-rock fusion, improvisational jazz, extended rock jams, and experimentation that even breaks into an unexpected hoedown depicting the Roy Rogers portion of the piece. The third track, "Song Sing to the Doldrum King," is a seven-minute, neo-classical performance number for flute only featuring the playing of guest musician Llena de la Madrugada, who was enlisted to play the difficult piece even though Snopek himself is a formidable flutist. This is clearly the most challenging and progressive album by this artist since the mid-'70s. ~ Dave Sleger, All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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