There are two general problems with this release for this listener (to be sure, others won't mind at all), both coming automatically with the "territory". Those who, like myself, adore the original Incus album (as well as the archival "Buzz Soundtracks" disc) doubtless attribute a good portion of those creations' success to the presence of Derek Bailey, who departed the ensemble in 1977. Depending on one's opinion of Philipp Wachsmann (violin, electronics), one either takes the change in stride without missing a beat or desperately misses the probity brought to bear by Bailey and not compensated for by his replacement.

But there's a deeper, more fundamental issue, having to do with the period of these performances, at which point the manner of this area of free improvisation was beginning to show signs of age and was being brought into question by musicians like Radu Malfatti with his accusations of "gabbiness" and the growing realization that "free" evidently did not include being quiet. What sounded so exciting in 1970 had begun to acquire a patina of routineness by the late 80s and, again, depending on one's tastes, that may be discernable and regrettable here.

That being said, fans of the late Rutherford (trombone) and Guy (bass, electronics) as well as Wachsmann certainly have a wealth of music to enjoy here (an Emanem double disc is guaranteed of a good 150 minutes of music) If the trio insists on non-stop "talking", they do so with great facility and liquidity, gamboling from one subject to the next, commenting wittily and moving on. Not surprisingly, the more subdued sections (for example, "Balham Bedford 2" and "4") offer more in the way of depth as well as incision, the trio seemingly more careful about sound placement and tending to drift into lyrical mode. Some 25 years on, one's enjoyment will likely be tempered by whether or not one considers this mode of operation to have still had validity at the time of recording (or, indeed, if it still does in 2014) or thinks that, for all its freedoms, there were indeed limitations and, as Bailey would write, idioms in effect that were subtly damping certain avenues of exploration. If the former, by all means, this will be a must-have; the three musicians do what they do brilliantly.