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I was unfamiliar with Ancient Future before I ripped the cellophane off of PLANET PASSION. My bad. These guys, with mucho changes in personnel, have been around since the '70s, before Windham Hill, before Putomayo, recording and performing what they call World Fusion music. Now that the world has caught up with them, they sound merely contemporary, when they were in fact groundbreaking in what they do. The members have studied with master musicians from all over the world, and have combined many different musical influences to create a mixture that surprises and frequently, if not always, delights.

I was afraid, after listening to the first 30 seconds of PLANET PASSION, that it was going to wind up on the skeet pile. The first track, titled "Simsimay Panima," is one of those bongo and flute numbers that they always play in those stores that sell wooden tiki figurines and burn 25 different variant scents of frangipani and sandalwood or in one of those idiotic rain forest theme restaurants that are as authentic as hell, except for the fact that you can finish your meal without having a spider the size of a Volkswagen Beetle drop out of a tree and eat all your french fries. I call it "Pier 1" music. But I went deep into the CD. Just for you. And if the reach of the Ancient Future people occasionally exceed their collective grasp, they're at least trying.

The idea behind PLANET PASSION is a love affair carried out on a global scale, with the lovers moving from country to country, continent to continent, the music matching the setting. It begins with them meeting, becoming attracted to each other, and matters proceeding as these matters will. The songs trace this relationship through Nepali folk songs to Scottish melodies ("I Met Her in the Meadow") to Afro-Slavic dance beats ("Ocean of Love"). There's a really interesting track, "Ochun," titled after the Santeria goddess of love, and which is sung by a Santerian priest. You get the idea. There are a lot of different things going on here. Even the tracks that don't work are interesting in their execution. Even the concept of Ancient Future is less that of a band than a revolving ensemble, so you never really know what to expect.

PLANET PASSION is worth checking out, even if world or new age music isn't your thing. The concept and execution behind this project is quite interesting, even if Ancient Future occasionally treads a little too deeply into Shadowfax territory.