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Pat Travers The Art of Time Travel Review by Gary Hill Pat Travers was one of the rock gods of the 1970s. It's great to see him still making music in the 21st Century. This album feels a lot like the kind of thing he was known for doing in those heady days of the 70s. There is a nice mix of sounds from bluesy rockers to near metal, soulful sounds and more. There are two instrumentals here, and every song is effective. There are some that really land in the sublime category. If you dig the classic guitar rock sounds, you are likely to enjoy this. You just don't get much better than Travers, really. I guess this album does have a component of time travel to it because it feels like a lost treasure of a previous decade, other than some of the lyrical themes. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2023 Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2023.

Track by Track Review

The Art of Time Travel Wasting no time, this powers in fast and mean. The tune takes on more of a psychedelia meets soul and blues rock vibe as it gets into the vocal based part of the track. The backing vocals really add to that soul aspect. The guitar fills are so tasty. The guitar solo is particularly expressive.

Ronnie Here get a riff-driven rocker. This is a bit fiercer and rawer. The closing instrumental break on this includes killer guitar work, but that's to be expected. Listen to the bass playing, though. It's also absolutely top notch. The song is a tribute to Ronnie Montrose.

No Worries at All Coming in mellower with intricate guitar work, this breaks into more fierce jamming as it continues. This track is positively meaty and hard rocking. Be sure to pay attention to the bass on this one, as well.

Over and Over More of a bluesy cut, this has some real melodic rock angles built into it. It's a classy tune with plenty of style and charm. The guitar soloing is, of course, top-notch.

Push Yourself I love the cool rocking groove of this number. It has a real boogie woogie vibe to it. Horns bring something special to it, and the cut is very catchy and classic sounding.

Move On Coming in seriously heavy, there is almost a metal edge to this as it gets underway. Riff rocking takes over as it moves out from the introduction. It drops to a stripped back arrangement for the entrance of the vocals. The instrumental section later takes this into more metallic zones. This is absolutely one of my favorites here. It's just so strong.

Full Spectrum This has plenty of jazz in the mix. It's a killer track that's packed full of style and cool. The horn playing on this instrumental is on fire. Of course, so is the guitar soloing. This is another standout.

Breaking Up in Lockdown Here we get another bluesy rocker. This has a plenty of class. It's not really a highlight, but it works well.

I Feel Good Blues and funk merge on this number. The cut is another that lands somewhere in the middle of the road.

Natalie Now, this is so classy. It has a dreamy sort of, nearly prog vibe at its core. This instrumental piece serves a real grounding force to end the disc in style.

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