by Backroads Music\u002FHeartbeatsJohn Weider, a former member of the legendary '60s rock group The Animals, is an accomplished guitarist capable of playing in a variety of stylistic settings. Using synthesizer, electronic percussion and his own acoustic rhythm guitar as backing, he ranges across much of the musical spectrum, from his characteristic stinging electric leads to gentle acoustic balladry. The more rock-flavored pieces are mainly grouped toward the beginning of Ancients Weep, offset by Midnight Pavanne, and an elegant neo-classical nylon-string solo. The ambitious Chain Reaction Now is at the center of the album, going back and forth between wailing electric guitar and pastoral synth and harp. This is followed by a trio of mainly acoustic tunes, with Aliso decked out with a quasi-Spanish trumpet and a shuffling marimba break. The final cut, The First 21st Century Escape, is a powerful slice of post-apocalyptic rock, with rumbling thunder, crashing cymbals, insistent sawing cellos and some searing electric lead. On Ancients Weep John Weider draws on folk, jazz, blues, classical and rock sources to once again demonstrate his wide-ranging skills as a guitar stylist.