Finnish guitarist Ilkka Rantamaki mixes a wide variety of styles on this ambitious album, ranging from gentle and pastoral folk to hard hitting blues rock. He teams up with Will Vinson/as, Manuel Dunkel/ss, Gary Versace/key-p, Matt Penman-Orlando le Fleming-Danton Boller/b, Ari Hoenig-Clarence Penn-Ville Vihonen/dr and various guests for 17 pieces that range from quick pastiches to moderate length sojourns. Rantamaki himself plays a surfeit if acoustic and electric strings as well as keyboards and percussion, with the moods changing as Rantamaki picks out gloriously gentle themes on his 12 string while rocking hard on the electric. Kaisamari Hiltunen’s violins add dramatic touches to “She is My Rainbow” and “Return to the Countryside Mansion” while Riita Kotisara’s harpsichord adds harmony and other wordliness to “Courtesan.” You get hints of guitar players of the past ranging from Freddie King to George Benson and Eric Clapton, and while the variety of colors may prevent the album from having a unifying theme, the listener gets the feel of being taken on a tour of various venues. Far reaching, with some of the ideas staying on the wall.