This long-awaited follow-up to 1999's critically acclaimed "Guitar Noir" album takes the listener on an all-instrumental voyage through the stages of sleep and dreaming. Beginning with the waiting -for- sleep opening salvo of "Mister Sandman", with its White Album-era arrangement juxtaposed with four-part harmony guitars a la The Andrews Sisters, the album just gets more inventive as it proceeds on its journey. From the sweet harmony guitars and Rundgren-esque arrangement of "All I Have To Do Is Dream", through a gorgeous reading of Ray Davies' "I Go To Sleep", through several Doyle originals and even Artie Shaw's old theme song, "Nightmare" this adventurous album has it all. Mark Doyle has had a distinguished career in the music business since his first band, Jukin’ Bone, was signed to RCA while Mark was in his late teens. He’s gone on to make records as guitarist or producer with David Werner, Cindy Bullens, Andy Pratt, Leo Sayer, Hall & Oates, Judy Collins, Meat Loaf, Bryan Adams, and Mary Fahl, and has provided string arrangements for numerous recordings by the likes of New Kids On The Block, The Cavedogs, The Stylistics, and Tiffany. He currently leads his own band, Mark Doyle & The Maniacs, who have released two albums and play consistently throughout the Northeast. As a solo artist, In Dreams: Guitar Noir II is his third all-instrumental release, following 1999’s Guitar Noir and 2001’s Out Of The Past. ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Guitarist Mark Doyle primarily played his treasured 1954 Fender Stratocaster on his masterfully produced new disc “In Dreams: Guitar Noir 2.” Downtown After Dark for The Eagle Nov. 17, 2011 By Russ Tarby Doyle disc revels in dark dreams Syracuse record producer extraordinaire Mark Doyle again descends into the netherworld with his new disc, “In Dreams: Guitar Noir 2.” It’s the long-awaited follow-up to his 1999 Local Record of the Year, “Guitar Noir,” an instrumental achievement unlike any regional record ever made. While “Guitar Noir” conjured film noir movie themes from the ’40s and ’50s, “In Dreams” clings to a single ominous motif, the power of sleep-induced surreality. The disc’s 11 amazing tracks range from wistful to wicked, from revelatory to revulsive… A few, such as the opener, “Mr. Sandman,” embody all of the above. The uncommonly slow, pensive version is spiced with a healthy variety of guitar figures that suddenly veer off into disturbing dissonances which shake the familiar melody to its core. In fact Doyle’s arrangements meticulously adhere to each tune’s melody as his 1954 Strat essentially “sings” the lyrics to each wordless song, from the Everlys’ “All I Have to Do is Dream” to Ray Davies’ “I Go To Sleep” to Cindy Walker’s Roy Orbison hit, “Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream?).” The producer’s reconstruction of such standards makes for invigorating listening, but the disc’s two original tunes are even more captivating. The shrill incantation of a theremin provides an eerie backdrop for Doyle’s “Reve Noir (Dark Dream),” and his menacing, tremolo-laden guitar lines cut to the quick. Their bitterness is complemented by softly wavering chord clusters showcasing the lower strings. Doyle credits the primal blues styling of Johnny “Guitar” Watson for this minor-key tour de force which boils over with forbidden passion and dark portents. Masterful music, indeed. Similarly, Doyle’s “Dream Tiger,” with its repetitively descending rhythmic guitar lines, evokes vivid images of the big cat stalking the jungle…or is it a human hep cat pounding the asphalt, looking for trouble? Foreboding ‘Nightmare’ Doyle’s late dad, Bobby Doyle, was one of CNY’s top jazz pianists, and while “In Dreams” is no jazz disc by any means, Doyle does doff his cap to the genre with Artie Shaw’s foreboding “Nightmare,” Henry Mancini’s dreamy “Dreamsville” and especially on Jimmy Van Heusen’s “Darn that Dream.” Also showcasing the upright bass playing of Darryl Pugh, “Darn” recalls the work of jazz six-stringer Jim Hall as Doyle revels in Van Heusen’s swinging melody. After another respectful recreation, this time of Brian Wilson’s often overlooked 1977 “Still I Dream of It,” Doyle concludes the disc with its piéce de résistance, a four-minute version of Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams.” Renowned for its inclusion in David Lynch’s creepy crime film, “Blue Velvet,” this lovelorn song is structured like no other. Where most rock tunes have a few verses set off by a catchy chorus or bridge, “In Dreams” has seven distinct melodies which flow seamlessly one into another ever building in emotion and intensity, and Doyle meets the challenge head-on. The instrumental treatments on “In Dreams” benefit greatly from Doyle’s decades of studio experience, yet his arrangements and performances both on guitar and piano are so heartfelt and human listeners can’t help but to share these dreams. In the title tune, Roy Orbison wrote, “It’s too bad that all these things / Can only happen in my dreams.” But Mark Doyle has proven that they can happen in a recording studio as well.