SNYDER, DOUG & BOB THOMPSON 
995265
CD
RULES OF PLAY

CONTEMPORARY INST. (GUITAR)

Sometimes, admittedly very rarely, an album comes along that is so unique, creative and original as to be, not only ahead of its time, but also regarded as a genuine landmark in musical history. The 3 tracks on this album were recorded ten years ago, and even now the music is still ahead of its time, and can really be seen as one of the finest albums of the last 20 years. Refusing to be pigeon-holed - it's not just rock or fusion or jazz or psychedelic or Kraut rock laced - It actually stands outside of all of those frames of reference, and yet it is melodic and has tons of rhythmic complexities and subtleties, but above all, particularly on the opening track, it has a sound that is unlike anything else you will have encountered. The music is alive and organic, yet restrained and dynamic, mixing the crashing, driving, solid stop-start drumming with the constant, ringing electric guitar layers that run through the heart of the mix. Lead lines soar and dive in a manner unlike music made by any other guitarist - A flowing mix of power, delicacy, restraint, grace and beauty in a sea of tight, solid drums and splashing cymbals. Of the 3 tracks, the first is the epic forty-four minute title track, where an electric guitarist and drummer play a unique form of jamming improvisational music that’s different from any other guitar and drums based album in existence, mainly because of its structure, mood and sound. Track 2 is a nine-minute piece with a spacier mood and the final track at seven and a half minutes features a mix of intense cosmic, shimmering, melodic soundscapes with solid rhythms that surge forth.

Essentially, on the forty-three minute title track, we have an electric guitarist and a drummer playing a form of music that stands head and shoulders above any other guitar and drums based jamming improvisational album in existence, mainly because of its structure, mood and sound. ‘The Rules Of Play’ opens with ringing guitar chords chiming over a powerful brew of stumbling drum rhythms as the music settles into a heady groove, with the guitar leads and layers flying high and at the same time exist as a swirling, shimmering, veritable sea of guitars - In a way a sort of melodic drone backdrop set at the heart of the mix. All the time, even at this point, you are hearing drum work that is the most inventive, creative and addictive since the pioneering days of Can and Magma, all of which this eclipses with ease. The intensity of the guitar calms around the fourteen-minute point, as twisting leads and rising rhythms break away and soar, while the drums continue to roll on. Splashing cymbals, rattling percussion and a distant Mellotron-like synth backdrop becomes evident, providing even more dynamics and texture to the piece. The drums fade to leave the backdrops up front as mellow electric guitar leads cascade and shimmer amid the now delicate drum rolls and subtle cymbal work. By now the keyboards, guitars and drums are brothers in harmony, and the soundscape is nothing short of breathtaking, a supreme mix of tranquillity and restrained power. Around twenty minutes in, the powerful, intense wall of restrained guitar layers decelerates; the drumming subsides to a whisper and a guitar riff emerges from the depths, but soon dies away in favour of a new sustained, but deceptively full-sounding guitar layer, with tinkling percussion and cymbal work adding extra texture, bite and support to the guitars. At the half hour mark, the clouds that have gathered begin to lift, the sky begins to clear and then THE most fantastic guitar chord comes in, and sends a shiver down your spine every time you reach this point, heralding the start of a new direction, as the guitar layers rise and fall from the previous dense soundscapes. The drums gather strength, then tumble and drive, while the guitar work, now positively shining in its new shimmering haze, begins to smoke in a cloud of lead chords and rhythms that sounds more like three of four guitarists at work. Almost forty-four minutes have just passed you by, and it feels like no more than half that time has elapsed, as the duo gradually decrease the intensity, with the drums almost refusing to die away as the resonant, shimmering sustained guitar chord and brightly lit leads begin to dim, eventually fading to a tranquil close, and all you are left with is a longing to hear it all over again to relive an amazing musical experience.  Track 2 is ‘They Would not be turned away’, and at a mere nine minutes, the mood becomes more 'spacey' with an ongoing layer of organ and synthesizer forming a sonorous background melange, while further incredible kit work drives, rolls, floats and booms its way along, with crashing cymbals, solid drums and percussive bursts. Keyboards and a deep flowing guitar texture lie at the base of the mix, providing an expansive background for the track’s closing sequence, where a cosmic, melodic lead line comes in above the drum-driven heart of the track.  The final track: ‘The Inertia Of Youth’, features a mix of intense cosmic, shimmering, melodic, resonant, droning soundscapes above rich, deep, sonorous sound layers, while a more direct, solid set of rhythms surges forth and motors the track to a faded conclusion, leaving you wanting more, which is just as it should be.

Weight: 150.00 g