The fourth volume of releases recorded at the fabled Studio Rivbea, this one includes two tracks from May, 1976 (performed during the Wildflowers festival, but not previously issued) and five from July, 1975.

Oddly, the later pieces are presented first, a quartet with Lake (alto and soprano saxophones, flute), Michael Gregory Jackson (guitar), Fred Hopkins (bass) and Phillip Wilson (drums). To this listener’s ears, Lake and Jackson have always had a thin, dry sound while Hopkins and Wilson produce a fat, wet one so the combination here is intriguing. "Six Beats Out" begins with a simple, attractive, three-note descending theme before unfurling into a fractured set of mini-motifs not too dissimilar to some of Braxton’s compositions around the same time. This quickly spirals into an improvised section, Lake on soprano then flute, Hopkins taking lovely, involuted steps, Wilson on brushes. It’s prickly, a common feature of Lake pieces, building up a good head of stem (Wilson driving things, back on sticks), before gently subsiding. "A Space Rontoto" is an angular, rough-hewn work, recalling some of the pieces on Lake’s Arista release, "Heavy Spirits", which had been recorded in early 1975. For all the harshness on top, Hopkins’ bass anchors things superbly; a good, tough piece.

On the earlier date, Wilson is replaced by Jerome Cooper (another musician with a light touch), Lake takes out his tenor for a bit and Baikida Carroll joins for one piece. "Re-Cre-Ate", another Lake composition with a kind of fractured approach, lurches along attractively, refusing to settle into any kind of groove, instead offering a range of images, sometimes airy, sometimes gritty. After another thorny and engrossing piece with Lake’s distinctive alto at the fore, the band, with Carroll, launches into the release’s highlight, a 23-minute jaunt on "Rue Roger". It’s a burner, less in the manner of pieces listeners might be familiar with from, say, Human Arts Ensemble (like "Hazrat, the Sufi") more verging (sometimes) on a proto-Last Exit feeling. An exhilarating work, in any case. "Rite-ing" is a strong, solo alto performance, pure Lake. The final track, "Trailway Shake", is marred by some martial drumming and a sardonic approach that has grown somewhat stale over time.

Overall, a good, solid recording, a valuable addition to the lore. And any time one gets to hear more Hopkins, one should leap at the opportunity.