Originally put out in the early 1990s, "The Lonely Bears" exhibit a real sense of adventure among the four participants - drummer Terry Bozzio, saxophonist Tony Coe, keyboardist Tony Hymas and guitarist Hugh Burns. All are accomplished players, with a number of high-profile credits to their name, including collaborations with former Beatles (Burns and Coe). For this project, however, those more mainstream influences were largely left in the closet. Instead, "The Lonely Bears" take more from the realms of world, jazz fusion, and progressive musicians to create a wonderfully free-form trio of albums.

The two discs re-released are actually the group's second and third efforts, "Injustice" and "The Lonely Bears are Running." "Injustice" is the better of the two albums, due to a more coherent sound. Each of its seven tracks strives to create specific moods, and largely succeed.

According to accompanying press notes, the tracks on "Injustice" were originally composed by Tony Hymas, before the four musicians went to work de- and re- constructing his ideas. The opening track, "March Past 29 145 749 B," highlights the essential "group of friends jamming" nature of the project, with Burns, Coe and Hymas each getting a turn as lead instrument, while Bozzio pretty much goes nuts throughout the song's eight-plus minutes. Coe's strident sax blasts carry both the beginning and end of the song, leaving the mid-section for Burns' richly textured solo.

The second track somewhat reverses field. Rather than being so up front, "Quanah Parker" attacks from more subtle angles, sounding as if it were a soundtrack to some '70s detective show. Burns' uses the lower registers of his instrument to provide a creeping, faux bass sound, over which Coe and Hymas evoke sensations of, say, Kojak tracking his prey through dark alleys. It's this ability to evoke various moods in listeners that makes this so effective.

The best track on "Injustice, called "Dancing for the Elders," mixes in Middle Eastern touches which makes everyone I've played it for think of belly dancing. Immediately afterward, the disc ends on an almost New Age mode, with the pastoral "Moonwatcher."

By way of comparison, "The Lonely Bears Are Running" is a more scattered affair. There isn't a sense that the band began with pre-composed material. Rather, they seem to have gone largely with their improvisational instincts to put the album together.

It starts off well, opening with a soundscape that captures the mood of the back cover art, which depicts four little bears staring across a vast plain toward the faraway moon. "From the Nafca Mountains" furthers that "Native American mythology" sensation, with Bozzio providing a tribalistic, tom-tom sounding beat under gently undulating solos from Hymas and Coe. Later on, another traditional tune, this time an English piece, is given vivid life, allowing the listener a glimpse (with the help of a little imagination) into the scene at an idyllic country fair far from any urban center.

However, the defining feature of "The Lonely Bears Are Running" is its madcap, seemingly highly improvised dashes. The first stretches over three tracks, beginning with the band's take on Duke Ellington's "Happy Go Lucky Loco." It continues into a radio channel surfer's dream called "No Picnic," which starts in an almost classical mode, moves into a Bozzio-dominated midsection, and ends with the strident Ellington sax riff from the previous track standing out above an instrumental melee. From the mess emerges "I Listen to You Dreaming," providing an alternately soothing and eerie conclusion to the saga. At times, the track veers in a direction that "Pink Floyd" might incorporate into their music.

"Looking For Maquah," provides the disc's other big adventure in the form of a wide-ranging, 17 minute romp through all the genres. "The Lonely Bears" explore, from ethnic touches to jazz forms, with all four members getting ample time to showcase their skills.

"Injustice" might work better as an album, but both of the re-issued discs are well worth checking out. There's a sense of a group of outstanding musicians genuinely having a blast, working through an eclectic mix of influences to produce albums that can truly be enjoyed by a wide range of music fans.