CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO WITH TONY LEVIN & PAT MASTELOTTO: CG3 + 2

It's hard to deny the talent and musicianship presented here by CGT; it is razor-precise and an impressive show of dexterity. Equally impressive, is the group's ability to stretch out what might otherwise be purely gimmicky playing into a texturally varied listening experience. The songs are equal parts blistering flourish and controlled atmosphere, with enough different themes and tempos to keep things interesting despite its length (dropping a few tracks wouldn't have been a bad thing, however); the acoustic playing is very expressive as well.

Highly recommended for fans of artsy instrumental albums, but the group's limited instrumentation and timbre puts this album to the realm of "excellant background music" for me.

Songwriting: 3 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: NA Style/Emotion/Replay: 2