At one time, Berkley’s famed Fantasy Studio A was the home of the glory days of jazz as well as the place where rock bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival started out. This album is the swan song, featuring musicians Erik Jekabson/tp-fh, Gregory Howe/key, Mike Hughes/dr, Scott Brown-John Wiitala/g, Mike Ramos/g, Kasey Knudsen/ts-as, Mike Blankenship/key and Roger Glenn/vibe.
The studio goes out with a sigh, as most of the songs are subdued and almost funereal. Jekabson’s horn is slow and noirish on the B movie’d “Journey Down Parker” with the horns blend for a melancholy and soft “Rabbit Trap”. Ramos’ guitar gives a thick rock pulse as the team trudges through the dirge of “From Fantasy to Reality” while he gallops on “Where’s One”. Some soulful keys are touched on the jazzy “Conducting Poppies” and on the easy rocker “Chrdelia” with the album, and studio, closing out on a spacey “Steak Out”. Did everyone where black?