At the risk of sounding ignorant -- it's always been difficult for me to discern how whimsical titles fit the soundscapes that instrumental bands create -- you gotta love a band that calls a 13 and one-half instrumental, prog-rock jam "Elliot Smith." Alternately, "Persona Non Grata" (who wants to hear from one of those, right?) is a clever minute and one-half . I've always thought that what the space-jam genre needed was a sense of humor, so it's been left to
Mushroom, an all-star cast of San Francisco musicians, to provide it while they take up the spaces left between Krautrock, free jazz and ambient. Within the jams -- since largely that's all there is -- you'll find the charms; DJs will find plenty for use here. ~ Denise Sullivan