Tim Sanders is a proficient and talented guitarist, keyboard player, recording engineer and producer from Virginia USA. Originally from Philadelphia, Tim grew up listening to many musical styles supplied by his elder sisters. From that point he developed a passion for music and it became means of self-expression. His ability to encompass and understand a wide range of genres shines through in his own stunning productions.

Back In The Alley is an instrumental cd of 12 tracks displaying enormous versatility, depth and compositional ability. If, like me, you have a short attention span and are wary of characterless instrumentals that often fade into blandness, then prepare yourself for a surprise. This cd cannot be ignored. It is entertaining and captivating throughout.

If Tim Sanders' heart lies with rock, then his soul is with jazz and blues.

Running through the tracks: No Problem starts by knocking you off your chair with its dark, dramatic power. No time to recover, Cardiac Candy fills the air with stadium rock at its best. By now the excellence of the drums will have you thinking of Iain Paice (Deep Purple) or John Bonham (Led Zep) and the guitars/bass will delight.

Just when you think you've got a handle on this guy he surprises you with a soundscape called A Silent Goodbye. This track builds with expertise then grabs your attention with its choice of instrumentation. Tim Sanders is never afraid to use crossover styling or to drop some sax or woodwind into the mix. You will be left pondering and reflecting, but you'll be kicked hard by the following passionate heavy rocker, The Stalker.

So how do you follow that kind of power? With beauty of course! A Love Song She'll Never Hear will draw you in with its tinkling of the keys against a soothing orchestral backdrop. Gone is another masterpiece that will take your emotions a stage further with the heart melting guitar playing and you'll be swept away by the song's massive crescendo. Tim Sanders, however, knows the many faces of passion and emotion and things take another turn when an acoustic guitar starts to play and we find ourselves learning all about Maria. This track is superbly arranged and progressed into something only maybe Santana could achieve.

There are more places to explore as we enter The Kool Lane which ventures confidently into jazz, with all the craftsmanship of Henri Mancini and a wonderful riff-like sax solo. Cabana Boy continues the sax playing theme. But Tim isn't one to get stuck in a rut. The track includes a strong reggae influence and emerges as a highly skillful crossover instrumental.

This artist doesn't just rely on power either. The ability to create moods and plant them inside your head is incredible. To See You Again is an example of melodic rock as it should be. Back In the Alley with its raunchy guitar work and distinctive solo will remind you of Bad Company or Whitesnake, intended to put you on a high. The Last Call wraps things up and is the perfect end to the cd with its live sounding full-on, laid back, traditional blues. It made me smile - it was just like being reacquainted with an old friend.

In summary. I was gripped by the sheer musicianship and production skills; it entertained me throughout. Complaints? I analyzed virtually every note and I could find nothing to dislike. Buy this cd - it won't fail to impress and you'll find something new every time you listen to it.

The cd can be bought here:
http://cdbaby.com/cd/timsanders4

Good review Rodrica and I agree with the lion's share of your commentary, this album is really a stormer well worth a few bucks of anyone's money.

I bought the CD from CDBaby some time ago, as I have done with all of Tim's previous releases.

His talent is awe inspiring and deserves our support, which has not been as strong (IMHO) in the past year or so as it could have been.

True talent like Tim's needs to appreciated, otherwise it drifts away from Dmusic and leaves the community poorer.

I've said it before, that independent music does not equate to FREE music. When you invest the time and effort and money that some of us have in setting up our home studios or paying for studio time, there should be an appreciation for the real talent, as possessed by Tim and a good number of others at Dmusic.

In other words, you can make a difference to an independent musician by actually buying the occasional independent artist's CD. At Dmusic, the musicians with albums for sale usually have previews for streaming and/or some free downloadable music.

Free music is fine and I admire musicians who make their music available for free download, but we should not sneer and belittle those with music for sale either. Free or not, all independent musicians at Dmusic are worthy of praise and respect IMHO.

For once LQM, I actually agree with you!

Yeah, bit of a shocker huh !

Thanks for taking time to review the album, I always enjoy great reviews of Dmusicians albums

Tim's the MAN!!!

Thank you, Rodz for the wonderful review!!!! You've been my NUMBER 1 supporter from the first day I arrived here.... Your support through the years means the world to me and makes it all worth it.

totally agree this CD is awesome!! excellent review!! also check out Tim's new Video something about Fishnets!