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Guitarist extraordinaire, Jimmy Ryan, is finally following up his excellent “21st Century Riffology” CD of 2017. Jimmy is an outstanding player, mixing his blues oriented with classic rock in the vein of Wishbone Ash, which was the first thing I came to think of when listening to opening track “Starlord”. Killer melodic, instrumental, melodic guitar rock. “Shatterbrain” goes into a melodic, almost slightly fusion-oriented mode, with some brutal fuzz+UniVibe soloing. The cover of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads” is a groovy heavy riff rocker, quite different from any other version I’ve heard. Jimmy’s rough-edged vocals fit this track like a glove. “Earthrise” is a smooth instrumental melodic number that takes us on to “Skydance”, which continues the melodic instrumental path, but with some cool almost progressive passages which gives the song a nice touch. “Black Ice” is a quirky riff piece, still melodic, but adding another new flavor to the album. Jimmy rips it open with a nice wah solo. “I’m Ready” brings in the heavy artillery and this one also has some fierce vocals from Jimmy. A kick ass heavy rocker, indeed! “Dulcinea” again brings us back into melodic guitar territory, while “Beserker” sure does what it says. That track has a raw, almost King’s X:ish vibe, but Jimmy’s smooth lead guitar lays in top like a smooth blanket. “Plectrumelectrum” kicks it into riff gear again and it does have a certain Zeppelin vibe to it. A cool track, indeed, with some pretty wild guitar harmonies. The short, but effective “Dreadhulk” takes us back into the detuned regions again, but soon picks up the pace and delivers some really cool harmony guitars. Drummer Dan Van Schindel makes good use of his toms in this one, as well as in the energetic vocal “Celestial Voice”, which made me think of Asia meets Wishbone Ash, with a pretty intense proggy mid-section and more kick ass soling from Jimmy. The album closes with “Quiet Flight”, which again is a quite descriptive title for a song. A smooth melodic guitar solo opens this more than 8 minute long number, which also takes a short walk into fusion-land. In all a brilliant guitar album for fans of bands like vintage Wishbone Ash.

Janne Stark / Stark Music Reviews (March 2022)
 

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While I can’t say I’ve heard Chicago area guitarist Jimmy Ryan’s previous album (2017’s 21st Century Riffology), I am familiar with several of the albums that Jimmy recorded with his brother Johnny Ryan (also an outstanding guitarist / multi-instrumentalist) in their long running group The Flyin’ Ryan Brothers, active from 1996 through 2012 and releasing seven albums. Astral Café is Jimmy’s second album since the brothers parted ways to pursue their own musical directions. The style here is a powerful blues-influenced classic rock, riff-laden and driving hard, incorporating a number of influences like jazz-rock fusion and symphonic, often with beautiful dual-guitar leads ala Wishbone Ash in their glory days. The set is mostly instrumental, but there are a few vocal tunes here, among them a standout version of Robert Johnson’s classic “Crossroads.” That’s one of only three numbers not written by Ryan (plus one additional writing credit shared with drummer and co-producer Dan Van Schindel). Other than the drums, Ryan plays all of the instruments (all guitars, bass and vocals), with one exception, his brother Johnny Ryan joins him on guitar for the album’s closing track “Quiet Flight,” a piece dedicated to the life and legacy of Rush drummer Neil Peart. Right out of the gate, the album wastes no time getting into high gear with opener “Starlord,” a hard rocking instrumental tune where melody is king and great guitar tones play a close second. Surely Hendrix, Johnny Winter, and Leslie West are all smiling up in heaven when they hear this one. Other standouts include the Willie Dixon penned “I’m Ready,” Ryan delivering the vocal in his powerful gravelly voice, and the beautiful soaring guitar instrumental “Dulcinea.” Then there is “Plectrumelectrum,” a classic rock styled gem all the way through. Astral Café embraces a number of different styles throughout its thirteen cuts, underscoring many different elements of what great guitar rock has been and should forever be.

Peter Thelen / Expose Online (January 2022)
 

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American guitar hero Jimmy Ryan is back in action with a new album that some long-time fans are calling his greatest musical achievement to date. Released in the Fall of 2021, the 13-track Astral Café finds the guitar legend behind the Flyin’ Ryan Brothers sound in impeccable sonic form. As the co-founder of The Flyin’ Ryan Brothers, Jimmy Ryan and his brother Johnny Ryan released seven well-received albums between 1999 and 2011. Jimmy is well renowned for his majestic, inspired instrumental guitar tracks and Astral Café brings his sound back alive and well in the roaring ‘20s.

Another side of Jimmy revealed on Astral Café displays his skills as a rock vocalist. A pair of vocal tracks here are quite exciting in their own right. Another major influence running through the lifeblood of Astral Café is the Flyin’ Ryan Brothers sound itself and a track here also spotlights Jimmy’s younger guitar-playing brother and co-founder of the band they took to soaring heights, through till what turned out to be their final album Under The Influence back in 2011. Although Jimmy Ryan released his solo album, 21st Century Riffology to favorable critical acclaim in 2017, the 2021 release of Astral Café proves to be his greatest album yet.

No rock guitar genre is overlooked on Astral Café - featuring new takes on his soaring rock instrumental sound and inspired symphonic fusion instrumentals coupled with the two tracks featuring Jimmy’s vocals. Every track here has something to offer long time Flyin’ Ryan Brothers fans. Astral Café is so well recorded with its strategic lineup of tracks, that newer fans will get turned on to a pinnacle moment in Jimmy Ryan’s music history.

Key to the instro rock sound of Astral Café is drummer and album co-producer Dan Van Schindel, whose style combines both power-rock combined with a jazz-fusion dexterity that worked so well on 21st Century Riffology. FRB fans that miss the guitar interplay between Jimmy and brother Johnny will note the appearance of Johnny Ryan on the album’s eight-minute closer “Quiet Flight”. After seven albums with the Flyin’ Ryan Brothers, and now with Astral Café - four solo albums, Jimmy Ryan has earned the musical acclaim he so rightly deserves.

Robert Silverstein / Roots Music Report (November 2021)
 

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Celebrating twenty five years of flying high, Illinois master of infectious licks embarks on interstellar voyage. This musician and his younger sibling Johnny have been prowling American stages, as THE FLYIN’ RYAN BROTHERS, from 1996 to 2011, and, one decade later, the former doesn’t seem to stop, “Astral Café” finding him soar solo on for the fourth time, and that’s quite a trip. The tunes, the sound or the attitude can take only you so far yet, packaged together, they produce a powerful effect. Coming across like Link Wray wrapped in 21st century sensibilities, Ryan often places his rumble ‘n’ riffs in the center of fusion filigree while keeping his sonic surfing firmly-but-loosely anchored to a bluesy core.

That’s why the leaden ebb and flow of “Crossroads” – the first roaring-vocal number in this largely instrumental brew, the other updated staple being the viscous-as-molasses take on Muddy’s “I’m Ready” – arrive rather unexpectedly, and if the Eastern-flavored “Berserker” should initially feel a tad superficial, it will get momentum, and the molten balladry of “Earthrise” is almost soul-shattering. The record may start in a very streamlined manner, Jimmy’s six-string harmonies beaming all over “Starlord” to propel the piece forward, and end in a serene way, when brother Johnny joins in on “Quiet Flight” with a second guitar, yet the album’s dynamics never fail to impress, as the main artist’s fluid licks and overdriven twang, spanked by his own bass and driven by Dan Van Schindel’s drums, are tangible throughout.

However, there’s a great contrast between cosmic funk of “Shatterbrain” that has alluring translucence to its melodic tangle, and the hard rock of “Black Ice” whose assault is demonically possessed, whereas the cover of Prince’s “Plectrumelectrum” is traveling in Jimmy Ryan’s hands to the edge of Jimmy Page’s “Moby Dick” and further on, into heavy psych territory before light country strands get woven into the heavy mix. Stull, the small epic “Celestial Voice” sees the American in progressive mode, singing his heart on the number dedicated to Neal Peart and featuring elegant time signatures which are typical for this player, though not for this platter. Such unpredictability doesn’t fail to charm, making “Astral Café” one of the most enchanting albums of the year – a milestone to gather no moss.

Let It Rock (December 2021)
 

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