RAT ROADS

This is OUT OF FOCUS' second posthumous release. The tracks here were leftovers from the "Four Letter Monday Afternoon" sessions. Man they recorded a lot of material during that time and it's all outstanding. A bit more of a free form/jamming style here and it's fantastic.

"I'd Like To Be Free" opens with a guitar melody then a fuller sound arrives before a minute. Nice organ and bass section follows.Vocals join in too then sax. Great sound before 4 minutes with the guitar and sax standing out. Bass and organ lead briefly around 6 minutes again. Piano late. "Table Talk" opens with horns with no real melody as they come and go. Drums and bass join in for support. Organ before 4 1/2 minutes. Horns dominate before 7 minutes. This sounds incredible ! "Rat Roads" builds with horns and drums but it settles back quickly as the organ floats in the background. It picks up before 4 minutes then kicks in with gusto. "Fallen Apples" is a short mellow tune with horns,keys and gentle guitar.

"Straight Ahead" has a good rhythm to it with organ playing over top. Horns join in and dominate. "Tell Me What I'm Thinking Of" is led by vocals, drums, organ and bass.The chorus just sweeps me away. So good. Guitar before 1 1/2 minutes then the horns join in. Just a gorgeous track. "Climax" opens with the horns sounding like they're warming up (haha). We start to get a melody before 5 minutes and they seem to jam the rest of the way. "Kitchen Blues" is 30 seconds of mainly horns while "Good-Bye Honey" is a minute of the guitar, bass and drums standing out.

Another exceptional release from these talented Germans. Well worth checking out.