THE WORLD THAT WE DRIVE THROUGH

The only lineup change is Theo Travis replacing the legendary David Jackson on sax and flute. This album does have it's differences compared to their debut, but it's still vintage seventies-like. I do like the debut better, but I love them both.They thank Richard Sinclair in the liner notes.The cover art and pictures in the liner notes are outstanding.

Theo's presence is felt right away on the first song "The Winning Game" where he struts his stuff in the mellow intro of the song. It kicks in before a minute before it settles into a jazzy mode. There are terrific lyrics that can be emotional. Andy sings and we get some sax after 2 minutes. Nice organ 3 1/2 minutes in. There are such a variety of sounds and textures, including a beautiful guitar solo from Roine to end the song. "Skipping The Distance" opens with some bombast and lots of flute. It settles as Andy comes in vocally. Nice bass here as flute continues. Guitar is aggressive before 2 1/2 minutes and later 4 1/2 minutes in.This just sounds so good. You can hear Guy Manning singing backup vocals.The drumming is fantastic throughout. Gotta love the flute, piano and organ during this instrumental section. The vocals are back later. Sax before 8 1/2 minutes.

"Photosynthesis" features more beautiful flute and piano, this is laid back early. Reserved vocals after a minute. A fuller sound a minute later then it settles again as contrasts continue. This one has a catchy chorus too. "The World We Drive Through" is an uplifting emotional song with a good guitar solo, some jazzy drumming and a sax solo. Great tune ! "A Gap In The Night" is the 18 plus minute closer. It doesn't really kick in until around 4 minutes, before that we get lots of piano and space. The guitar follows at 4 1/2 minutes with some chunky bass. A calm 7 minutes in. Mandolin then vocals 8 1/2 minutes in then it kicks in again. I like the sound of the guitar after 11 1/2 minutes. Another calm 2 minutes later as Roine comes in vocally.

Andy Tillison and Sam Baine's keyboard and piano playing are simply amazing on this album, not to mention Andy's song writing abilities that really make this album special. This is a fantastic release.