Personnel: Will Morris (flute); Robert Rich (dumbek).
Recording information: Timeroom, Culver City, CA (1982-1997); Timeroom, Tucson, AZ (1982-1997); Timeroom, Venice, CA (1982-1997).
This retrospective of Roach's tenure with the Celestial Harmonies label is as fine a cross-section of his many diverse journeys as can be hoped to find. DREAMING NOW, THEN contains outtakes from the defining moments of DREAMTIME RETURN, QUIET MUSIC, EMPETUS, NOW/TRAVELLER, and STRUCTURES FROM SILENCE. Roach synchronized the various pieces in studio, re-sequencing them to maintain a consistent flow that not only tracks his myriad wanderings but establishes a collage of effortlessly changing moods. It's all here: from engulfing, poignant, and ambient scores ("Something in Tears"), to the steep inclines of continuing rituals ("Steel and Bone," "Flatlands") and sizzling exercises in sequencer art ("Comeback," "Seeking"). Those unsure of where to take the first plunge into Roach's huge back catalog couldn't do better than to go here.
