This second solo album from Becker in 2008 has all the trappings of the Steely Dan sound, yet more bland and with occasional moments of promise. There are some real reggae influences too. Sadly it is not as cohesive as his debut release, 11 Tracks of Whack!. In many respects this is for completionists only. Becker is known as not being a lead vocalist but if you know the man's humour behind his material, that will be forgiven as he takes you on a quirky trip with an abundance of jazzy moments and neat guitar licks and riffs.A few standout tracks like " Paging Audrey", " Downtown Canon" and the odd " Selfish Gene". Hope this review finds the pages as it is a second attempt.Most completionists will have this already, but I would still say, get his debut release first.

Blue Sun marked the beginning of the 1980's for Ralph Towner. All instruments played by the multi instrumentalist but the classical guitar and 12 strings having the most impact. The opener Blue Sun is a beautiful moody song where his guitar work perfectly depicts the sun in all it's glory. Towner always has an inept skill at replicating climate and seasonal atmospheres to his musical pieces. The follow up " The Prince and The Sage" is another highlight to the album where his instruments play off against one another perfectly to create a lovely song. " C.T. Kangaroo" has always perplexed me, maybe it is Ralph Towner just having a bit of fun but the song is largely a throw away piece yet with clever interplays. My personal favourite is " Wedding of the Streams" where he evokes a cacophany of streaming rivulets of water all babbling in harmony at once. A truly elvish sounding piece :-). " Rumours of Rain" the closer is a brooding, slow, dark song. I am not sure whether it is titled from the anti apartheid novelist Andre Brink's book of the same name. If so one can definitely associate and relate to the sombre mood of this length song. In summary a great album and almost a four star work but as this reviewer prefers to round down I am going to give this album a solid three and a half stars.

Released in 1973 prior to the excellent Solstice. Diary is for the most part played solely by Ralph Towner himself and whilst the classical guitar playing is the trademark sound of Towner, the piano and keyboards are much more evident on Diary and by far play the biggest influence to the album. There are four tracks that really standout here, the opening " Dark Spirit" which sets the laid back minimalist tonal soundscapes, found on most of the album. Not the best by a long shot. These would have to be the beautiful melancholic " Ogden Road" and also " Mon Enfant". Again " Icarus" displays some wonderful pieces where the longer passages proves the albums worth. Early days for Ralph Towner and a good album, but this reviewer still recommends Solstice as a better inroduction to this musician's music. Three solid stars.

An important ECM artist for mostly minimalist jazz instrumentals, alongside the likes of Jan Garbarek and Eberhard Weber or even keyboardist Keith Jarrett. What needs to be said about Solstice? An absolutely stunning aural tapestry of sound encompassing all the characteristics one would feel or find with Winter, distant sun, weak sunlight, falling leaves or still frozen lakes and driven snow. It's depiction of this mood is so accurately kicked off with the splendid Oceanus. Towner's 12 string guitar is simply beautiful as is Garbarek's flute. A major highlight throughout Solstice is Eberhard Weber's bass and cello playing too. The musicianship holds this album together extremely well and being under the ECM banner/or progressive sound one can tell on listening and appreciating it why the music does not age at all. Anyway "Oceanus" take the listener on a swirling 11 minute ride before the alien song called ' Visitation' steps in. Perhaps one of the few songs that really does send shivers down the spine when depicting the possibilities of alien life. The most unusual track on the album but not unpleasant, reminds the reviewer morelike of amoeba and still pond life in midst of Winter. ' Drifting Petals" closes side one and is a beautiful seven minute passage and in the reviewers opinion the most accessible song on Solstice. Side two follows with ' Nimbus' which is an extremely clever piece of music with quirky time signatures as Weber and Towner interchange expertly between cello, bass and 12 string. Winter Solstice is next and here and the next few songs is where Garbarek seems to have more license to play out the album with the exception of Piscean Dance.

In summary this album would have received a fiver star rating had the album not dissipated so readily after Winter Solstice. It is an exceptional work that will require repeated listens by people new to RT before fully appreciating how important this work is. Four and a half stars.