In 2012, record producer and Yes bassist Billy Sherwood assembled a star-studded cast of prog, jazz, funk, and metal musicians including Rick Wakeman, Mel Collins, Jerry Goodman, Chester Thompson, Percy Jones, Steve Hillage, John Etheridge, and many more. They issued an eponymous long-player in 2012 on Purple Pyramid that won global attention from the jazz, prog, and fusion communities. Unfortunately, it appeared to be a one-off; no tour or subsequent recordings followed -- until now. Cleopatra staff producer Francisco Perdomo resurrected the Fusion Syndicate project, did his own recruiting, and came up with Speedway on Saturn's Rings, a second album, with another already in the can. The cast contains some repeat players, namely Thompson and Wakeman, but it goes wider.

On the title-track set opener, Thompson is joined by bassist Jah Wobble (they serve as the rhythm section more often than not) and guitarist Al Di Meola. A striking bit of fusion introduced in a minor key with a charging guitar and bass riff, Thompson is the glue keeping spiraling, funky impulses from the guitarist and bassist in check. The track loosely recalls Jan Hammer's and Jeff Beck's fusion classic "Freeway Jam." Wobble and Thompson also accompany guitarist Chris Poland (Megadeth) on "Planet 15," wedding jazz syncopation, metallic guitar riffs, and a startlingly colorful chord progression. Wakeman composed the wonderfully bombastic, soaring "Io," layering keyboards above Wobble's downtuned bassline. A reading of "The Bottle" by Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson is rendered with a socially concious, nocturnal jazz-funk by Jackson, bassist/vocalist Bootsy Collins, and drummer Carmine Appice.

Jan Akkerman joins Fusion Syndicate for a knotty exercise in hard prog on the appropriately titled "Blasting Off."

Former Gong saxophonist Didier Malherbe joins the lineup for "Lunar Rover on Mars," an exquisite exercise in lithe, canny, swinging jazz-rock. The official closer is "Coming Back Home." A vehicle for guitarist Steve Stevens and bassist Alphonso Johnson, it weaves together layered acoustic guitars and banjo in the backdrop as Stevens erects a minor-key electric progression effortlessly moving between jazz, psych, and blues atop shimmering percussion, floating keyboards, and a clean, winding bassline.
The Fusion Syndicate recorded far more material than what is included here. For Speedway, they tack on four remastered cuts drawn from their eponymous debut. Remarkably, they fit the album's musical aesthetic perfectly. Fusion Syndicate and Perdomo also held back ten tracks from these sessions for the November 2024 release Beautiful Horizon. These records amount to an early holiday surprise for fans of fusion, prog, and excellent playing.