Guitarist Justin Adams has spent most of his career as a hired gun, working for folks like Sinéad O"Connor, Robert Plant, Jah Wobble, and Peter Gabriel. Finally making his solo debut, Adams does his own bit of genre bending on Desert Road, drawing upon the blues, North and West African music, and electronic ambient music. Arranged in his home studio with only a little help from longtime collaborator and percussionist Salah Dawson Miller, Desert Road is a successful amalgamation in which panoramic electronic shading leaves plenty of room for Adams"s postmodern blues licks and vivid musical imagination. More than simply a guitarist who knows how to program, he plays a multitude of instruments on the album (ngoni, bender, finger cymbals, Hopi shaker, Mali scraper, electric organ, and even cardboard box), flavoring various parts of each song like a master chef preparing an elaborate meal. Highlights include the hypnotic and mellow "Wallahee" and the jumpin", blues-based "Wayward" and "Runway." --Tad Hendrickson