His pedigree is daunting, yet he is certainly not a household name as are many of his peers. So, here we are with his latest solo release in hand, The Unstruck Melody, which features a phenomenal 20 tracks. Backed by huge ensemble cast of musicians, Mantel's latest musical journey is as expansive as reading his biography. The players on The Unstruck Melody include John Falstrom (b), Rusty Hall (k), Patrick Doody (d), Keith Marx (backup vox), Paula Mantel (v), Amanda Elliott (backup vox), Mari Zen (backup vox), Rich Koch (g), Clar Monaco (sitar), Ani Datar (tablas) and Rose and Sari Joly.

The initial listening experience seems like a daunting task. 20 brand new songs on a single disc, it is almost a scary endeavor to weed through a CD of this magnitude. This isn't a greatest hits package to some up an artist's career. If you are getting the hint that 20 songs is a bit much, then you are in line with the direction of this review.

The Unstruck Melody isn't strictly an instrumental release (this conclusion may be drawn by the CD cover), as Mantel includes music sung by a variety of vocalists. Early on, after the intro, the CD is balanced by vocal accompanied track preceded by an instrumental arrangement. The instrumental songs on the CD highlight Mantels finely honed chops, which are a mixture of rock, a bit of fusion, and a touch of jazz all bundled together with a tone that is very reminiscent of Eric Johnson. Mantle is careful not to over do the often times mismanaged effect of distortion. Mantle adds just enough to lend a little sting to his sound and boldly lets his fingers do the rest of the work.

The Unstruck Melody has some great, enjoyable instrumental tracks that get at the heart of the musician. Instrumental songs include: "Tribute," "The Real You," "Tai Chi," "Under A Different Light," "Exit 10," "Wings of Fire," "Finger Picking," and "The Unstruck Melody (reprise)." Instrumental songs that really shine: "Affectionately Yours," beautiful classical piece . "There Are No Words," a movement in musical expression touching on several moods with the electric guitar leading the way. "Intermission" a sitar driven piece is a weak break in the middle of the CD.

The music flounders with the vocal accompanied songs. The vocalists never quite push the envelope enough to bring anything unique to the songs. Almost all the vocal accompanied songs have smooth '70s rock vibe ala Steely Dan. Really the vocal portions of the CD will appeal to fans of this type of rock.

Truth be told, this CD release would have been better as a 2-disc set; 1 disc instrumental and the vocal accompanied songs. Then at least listeners could decide which CD they wanted to listen. The obvious choice here is the instrumentals.