by Backroads Music/HeartbeatsKit Watkins has been at the forefront of keyboard oriented music for a very long time. In the mid-'70s, he fronted the progressive rock band Happy The Man, which is currently enjoying a renaissance of sorts. With this new release, Watkins again emerges as one of the most talented of keyboard maestros. SunStruck is really two releases in one. The first half is uptempo, driving, with stellar rhythms and accessible melodies, evoking Watkins's sense of his own past. The second half is remarkably different, not merely dabbling, but rather mastering the genre of space music. What has always separated Kit Watkins from his contemporaries is his unique synthesizer voicings. Besides using keyboards to mimic acoustic instruments, he creates electronic sounds full of breath and life, showing the grace of imperfection, reflecting the fragility of humanity, rather than striving for the absolute consistency available from electronic instruments. SunStruck re-establishes Kit Watkins as a leader in his field, a place his fans know he never really left.