Coming from Bruford’s Feels Good To Me album, this starts gradually with mellow jazz tones. It launches out into more powerful arrangement from there and female vocals come across. For my money the vocals are too far up in the mix, obscuring the killer musical explorations too much. This features Bruford with those vocals provided by Annette Peacock, Dave Stewart on keys, Allan Holdsworth on guitar and Jeff Berlin on bass.  There’s an almost punky feeling to Peacock’s vocal delivery. Berlin’s bass takes it into a rather dissonant musical journey sans vocals later. As it carries on this gets pretty frantic and rather Crimson-like and the guitar really drives it. They move out into another vocal segment later and then Holdsworth’s guitar holds sway for another instrumental movement. A rubbery rhythm section takes it later and sees it out.

This track and the one that follows it are from the same album as the opener and feature the same lineup. With a mellower motif the vocals don’t seem so overpowering this time. The music is quite involved and yet subdued at the same time. This is a much more sedate jazz journey, but there is quite a bit going on if you really listen intently.

This comes out of the last track and a UK like droning starts it off. After a spoken vocal the band kick it out into a funky jam that’s quite cool. There’s a tasty rock edge to this one. We get a short soaring progressive rock movement and then they move it out to more spacey jazz explorations. They build it back up and then Holdsworth shows what he’s made of again. This gets to be quite fiery and powerful. It resolves out into more melodic territory after a while. And then we get a mellower jazz jam that’s still quite fusion oriented. This is short lived and serves as the outro.

Coming from the One of A Kind disc, this has the same lineup as the first two tracks with the exception that Peacock is not here. This starts with percussion and then is turned into a killer prog rock jam. It’s a riff driven piece with a nice keyboard sound. There is some exceptional work from all the players here as they move through a series of variants.

The origins and lineup are the same as on the last cut. This is a melodic jazz meets prog rock journey. It’s much mellower than the previous one and quite pretty. There is some awesome bass work on this. Of course, each member of the group gets a chance to shine.

Coming from Gradually Going Tornado, this has the same lineup as the last two, except that Allan Holdsworth is going and The Unknown Jack Clark is handling guitar and Berlin (also still on bass) handles vocals. This has a more rock texture than the tracks we’ve heard to this point. It’s probably closer to the sounds of UK than the first few numbers. I like this a lot.

Rising up with a real prog rock majesty, they shift this out quickly into a rubbery fusion groove. When it moves to the song proper it’s more purely rock oriented. It’s from the same disc as its predecessor and features the same lineup. After the first lyrics end they take it out into a frantic and hard edged fusion jam. From there it’s back to the vocal segment again.

Coming from The Moraz Bruford album, Music For Piano and Drums, this is a dosage of seriously chaotic free form jamming that is very much in the vicinity of RIO.

From the same album as the previous number, Bruford's percussion starts this off very dramatically. This has an open, dissonant King Crimson like style to it in many ways. It's a bit odd, but also very tasty. I like this one a lot. That says a lot because dissonance often throws me off. This has a killer groove to later segments and is just plain effective.

This track and the one that follows it feature the same two musicians, but come from the Flags album. The personnel may not have changed, but the sound sure has. This is much more melodic and pretty. It starts in mellow ways on just piano, but then fires out into more rocking territory as Moraz switches to synthesizers. There are a lot of wonderful textures, both melodic and rhythmic here and it might be my favorite cut on the whole set.

There’s a funkier feeling to this and it’s another highlight. This features a lot of the same musical features as the last piece (and the same lineup), but it moves more into a fusion direction and gets a little more adventurous. It wanders into dissonance at times, but never far enough to turn me off.

Starting with percussion, this leads out to a scorching fusion jam. This careens this way and that as the furious tempo leads it forward. The personnel on this (from The Bruford Tapes) is the same as on “Age of Information” and “The Sliding Floor,” but since this is an instrumental Berlin provides only the bass. They work through a few intriguing variants and this is really pretty powerful stuff. There are points where it is reminiscent of UK. Oh, and speaking of Berlin, check out his frantic funk bass later in the track. This is another highlight of the disc and it is another that moves out to dissonance at times. It gets pretty intense at times, that’s for sure. There’s screaming guitar soloing, killer keyboard jaunts and through it all Bruford’s working his magic. The closing bit of this live cut reminds me just a bit of something from King Crimson’s Starless and Bible Black album.

The first disc of the compilation is brought full circle by the inclusion of this track from the same disc (and with the same lineup) as the two songs that started it off. At around the three-minute mark they drop it way back for the spoken vocals. This is a nice touch. They take us back out from there into another killer jazz journey with more vocals coming in over it. It falls back again for more spoken lyrics and then fires out into a soaring jam.

This comes from the self-titled first disc by Bill Bruford’s Earthworks. Starting with a slow, bouncy progression, this one builds in a more electronic sounding modern way. Eventually more traditional jazz elements emerge over this backdrop to carry it onward. As they smoothly transition the number it becomes one of the most effective and powerful jazz progressions on the album. This one features some exceptionally tasty soloing and textures. They move it over the course of the piece through several interesting and varied changes. The groove and sense of fun are never lost, though.

Feeling like a jazz take on King Crimson's "Thela Hun Ginjeet" on the rhythmic structures, the over layers seem to convey an Asian texture at times. It moves into some varying segments, but still holds its general themes, but intensifying the energy. This comes from the same album as the previous number.

Coming from Bill Bruford’s Earthworks’ second album, Dig, a fairly sedate, but very dramatic rhythmic section begins this and then horn starts to weave lines of melody over the top as this is gradually built up. There are some really cool bits later that I think are Bruford’s electronic percussion. Although, perhaps it’s keyboards. It doesn’t really seem to have the attack of percussive instrumentation and yet there’s an almost xylophone element to it. The track doesn’t cover a wide variety of musical territory, but it covers it well.

A playful texture leads this off and although there’s a bit of a weird modern electronic sound to this it feels very much like some old school jazz. Of course, that applies mostly to the extended intro. They take it out into a groove that has a much more modern sound, although there is still a bit of a tongue in cheek weirdness felt on much of this. This is also from Dig. It is quite a dynamic piece and works through a number of intriguing changes, moving between nearly pure jazz and something closer to Rock In Opposition. There are moments that feel like, in different formation, they might have been at home on an album by Louis Armstrong.

Hailing from the All Heaven Broke Loose album, this comes in tentatively and becomes more complete and cohesive as it continues. There is a nice mix of King Crimson type pounding, modern fusion and pure jazz stylings on this. It’s an exploratory piece that covers a lot of musical territory, too.  I love the standup bass dancing in the backdrop through much of the track.

Although this comes from the same album as the previous piece, the tone and modes are quite different. This is mellower and far slower. It’s got a more pure jazz texture to it. This is pretty and a nice addition.

Some weird electronic elements start this and show up here and there throughout. The killer funk jam that makes up the bulk of this tune is simply awesome. They throw in bits of weirdness at different points along this ride, though – including an excursion into King Crimson like ambient space. This comes from the live Earthworks album Stomping Ground.

The final track from Bill Bruford’s Earthworks’ first disc to make this set, they come in mellow and sedate on this with a killer smooth jazz groove. This one doesn't wander far; instead content to stay in a pretty and potent mellow mode.

Coming from the album of the same title, “If Summer Had Ghosts” starts with bass. From there they launch into a tasty jazz journey with a lot of acoustic guitar woven into its musical tapestry. There’s a killer acoustic bass solo on this.

Acoustic guitar starts this off and there’s almost a folk rock texture to the cut – although it still fits nicely into the jazz realm. This comes from the same disc as the previous number. It’s quite a tasty number and one that gives each of the musician their time to shine.

Coming from the A Part and Yet Apart album, this is a lot mellower and more pure jazz in nature than some of the other material on this set. It’s quite a nice smooth jazz journey. They do power it up a bit later, but never lose sight of the prize. The piano truly drives a lot of this, but the tenor sax also gets a chance to steer.

This was originally released on the same disc as the previous cut was. The pure jazz modes are as much in play as they were on the previous number, but this gets a lot more energized and powerful than that one. It’s really a killer jam that just plain wails.

Here is a pretty much pure jazz journey. It’s set in a nice groove and is quite tasty. This comes from the album Sound of Surprise. This has a great piano solo. They also take us into some cool dramatic modes (and Bruford gets to show off) around the five and a half minute mark.

The title track to the same disc that gave us “Revel Without A Pause,” Bruford’s percussion starts it and holds it for a while. After a time saxophone joins and we begin this ride. Keep your hands inside at all times as this is a pretty thrilling one. We get some Eastern modes along this journey and it’s a purely jazz romp that’s quite potent.

Coming from Every Step A Dance, Every Word a Song, this is very much a rhythmic showcase. There is melody, too, but Bruford really dominates most of this track. Even the melody (Michiel Borstlap) is often quite percussive in nature. A live cut, this does move through a number of changes and alterations and is quite powerful at times. You can tell that it’s a crowd-pleaser, too.

The piano leads this off, building a pretty melody. It shifts towards dissonance a little before the half minute mark and then returns to melody, feeling darker. Percussion enters tentatively and builds quite deliberately. The percussion rises to a noisy sort of cacophony as the piano twists into weird territory. This becomes an experimental free form sort of piece for a time and then settles back down to more gentle melodic motifs. The drums rise again, bringing with them more chaos, but the piano climbs also keeping its head above the water this time. Then they settle into a more traditional jazz piano/drum jam. They move through a few alterations. At times it becomes more noise oriented and then it shifts back in favor of the melodic to finally end. This comes from the Bruford and Borstlap CD In Two Minds.

Coming from the same album as the previous composition, this starts in with a cool, tuned percussion sort of sound. They take it in with a killer jazz jam from there. This has a lot fuller sound and a bit more of a “rocky” fusion element in play than the previous one. This is frantically paced and, while at times it can be a bit challenging in terms of its scope, is a considerably accessible piece of music. They move through a number of differing movements and motifs in the process of creating this sonic tapestry. Once more it serves as a great showcase for two talented musicians. It turns more into a sound that fits with the earlier cuts for the second half of the number.

A live cut, this is a percussion marathon. It features Bruford on drums, of course, but he’s joined by Doudou N’Diaye Rose (sabar), Chad Wackerman (drums) and Luis Conte (conga drums). This is quite tribal and certainly of interest to drummers. For my money I’ve never been crazy about drum solos, but this is in a whole other world and really rocks. It comes from the album A Coat of Many Colors.

Coming from Earthworks Underground Orchestra, this live one starts with music that reminds me of something from Vince Guaraldi. It fires out into a screaming jazz jam that’s frantic and powerful. This is one of the best cuts on the whole set. It’s full of energy and just plain oozes “cool.” At almost ten and a half minutes in length they’ve got a lot of room to play and they make great use of it, working through a series of tasty moods, modes and jams.

We return to the Sound of Surprise album for this composition. It starts with a piano solo that’s quite intricate and pretty. Eventually the other instruments make their debut and they start to build this into another tasty jazz outing. It’s another extensive piece, weighing in at nearly ten minutes and covering lots of different musical textures. At times it’s quite sedate, but they bring it into more energized and intense sounds at other points.

This cut starts with percussion that reminds me of “Thela Hun Gingeet.” They take this into a somewhat freeform, but still cohesive and rather “groove oriented” jazz jam from there. It makes its way through a number of changes and alterations in a killer arrangement that has shades of mellower and more intense music. There’s a great section that’s more stripped down and laden with middle Eastern musical flavors. It feels like something out of a movie soundtrack, but gets quite involved as the percussion takes control. This number comes from Random Acts of Happiness.

This recording is a frantic fusion number that’s got quite a few differing moods and motifs. It’s a great piece of music and a great way to end things on a high note. Of course, just about anything from any of the three discs would have done that.