Night Ark - Picture (1986)

The album Picture was the debut recording by the quartet Night Ark, led by Ara Dinkjian, the principal oud player and composer of most of the tracks. Night Ark's music, in which Dinkjian also plays canoon, cumbus, and Portuguese mandolin, was difficult to categorize and often mistakenly filed under new age, which hindered its promotion. Notable compositions include the lyrical "Trees" and the exotic extended suite "Of Song and Silence," which feature piano instead of the electronic DX7, underscoring the group's otherwise all-acoustic sound. The album also presents an unusual interpretation of The Beatles' "Blackbird" that includes an improvised oud solo. Following Picture, Night Ark released only one more album for Novus before entering a decade-long period of studio inactivity prior to recording a single effort for Emarcy. The original Picture CD is considered long out-of-print and may be somewhat difficult to locate.

Tracklist:
1-1 Night Ark - Tree [3:38]
1-2 Night Ark - Blackbird [3:44]
1-3 Night Ark - Of Song and Silence [10:33]
1-4 Night Ark - Picture [4:29]
1-5 Night Ark - Trilogy [20:48]
1-6 Night Ark - Homecoming [3:46]
1-7 Night Ark - Worm [11:05]