Desert Cure
1998

Songs:

The Painted Desert
Travels With My Ant
Maya Descends
The Goddess Maya (Comes In A Broken Crate)
Why, Arizona
The Bunnyhop
Ballet Parking
Pail Face
Boolean Hunters
Phonear
Hey Pal, I Wear The Dress In This Family
Four Eyes Only
Wenzo
Tiny Lung Blues
Shaves From The Alive One
Is This Tomorrow?

The third disc from this mostly instrumental Toronto combo firmly establishes Don Rooke as one of acoustic guitar's greatest unsung heroes. Playing lap-style slide on historic Weissenborn and Kona guitars, he alternately evokes the smooth perfection of Jerry Douglas, the languid soul of Ry Cooder, and the dreamtime whimsy of Bill Frisell. But such comparisons are mere reference points - Rooke is a startling original who seems constitutionally incapable of resorting to slide cliches. His tone is drop-dead gorgeous, his technique mirror-smooth, yet he has a mischievous chromatic streak that keeps things from getting too comfortable. The other musicians are formidable too, especially Monte Horton, whose keening electric work is a perfect counterweight for mellow-toned Rooke. Their rhythm section gravitates toward easy, Caribbean-flavoured grooves, but they, too, spike the punch with piquant dissonance - is there such a thing as "tropical noir"? Fretwork of the first order, well worth seeking out. " -Guitar Player, review by Joe Gore, November 1998