Dan's roots are showing again on the opening number, "Road to America", a medium tempo Celtic tune. Tricky string-work jazzes up the ending a bit, a good lead into the psychedelic funk of the second piece, "60's Love Theme". Dan reveals his age a little, with intimate instrumentation: fine use of the treble strings for a 'guitar as sitar' effect. Very nice. "Spruced Up (With Wood)" (#3), is a toe-tapping good time, followed by a melancholic, "I Wish I Was." It truly is sad; I don't care for the disjointed phrasing and rather elementary accompaniment. There again, maybe my 'less-than-jazz' ear can't follow the concept. I wanted to skip to the next song! In contrast, I enjoyed the slow, solo Revel in "Shepherd's Request" (#6). Simple, yet technically masterful, a much better example of quality arrangement. I wanted this song to go on a bit longer!

By cut #8 on this CD, I was getting a definite indication of Dan's direction. "Strummed, Cymru" sounds unstructured-by design! That's not to say undisciplined, just different. Interesting. An eclectic 'song-soup,' as it were. The appropriately named "Sandstone" (#11), carried me to wind-swept mesas, galloping horse-hooves keeping the beat. Clearly, Dan Lambert likes to do differing styles, demonstrating an equal talent for them all. He includes a trilogy of inter-related tunes he named the "Franklin Mountain Fantasy", near the end of the release. Sandwiched between the sleepy "Smuggler's Pass" (#13), and the uneventful "The Elephant and the Needle" (#15), lies the cream of this crop. "North Ridge" (#14), a vigorous, technically challenging piece, showcases Dan's competence. I like it because it is stylistically more straightforward than the others-no folk/jazz "korn-fusion" going on!

He closes the set with "I Don't Want to Leave (Forever This Time)", making it clear that this CD is all about expression. A man's soulful revelation of emotion, unabashed, and an artist's statement of individuality. Although this and "The Clearing" are not Dan's first CDs, I got the feeling that recording them was the first time he really got to 'do his own thang.'