STOMU YAMASH'TA, STEVE WINWOOD & MICHAEL SHRIEVE: GO

I revisited this album again after many years and was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm by reviewers here. This is one of my favourite prog albums and ideal for when one is in a relaxed state of mind, right up there with Dark Side of the Moon (or the Easy All Stars' Dub Side of the Moon, for that matter). The musicianship and production are outstanding. Musicians were clearly chosen for the project not only for virtuosity but the quality of their tone. So the sounds produced by this band are a treat for the ears, and remain so in 2016.

So I'll buck the trends and give the album five stars (and I wouldn't give this rating easily). It's a unique and charmingly flawed masterpiece of prog musicianship, production and eclecticism.

If you enjoy intelligent, beautiful, inventive prog played by brilliant musicians, you'll enjoy this album. More than anything, this album is eclectic, including (amongst all the space noodling and space rock), funk, fusion, (normal) rock, symphonic rock, soul, pop and symphonic experimental music.

Some highlights: Steve Winwood's vocals in Nature, Pat Thrall's superbly constructed guitar solo in Crossing the Line (and Paul Buckmaster's orgasmically arranged outro). Al diMeola's various stellar contributions. Stomu Y's edgy percussion and Klaus Shultz's atmospheric noises in Carnival.

For rhythm section buffs, Michael Shrieve's drumming was as immaculate throughout as you'd expect and he formed a most tasty rhythm section with Traffic's Rosco Gee on bass.