Long-term fans of R. Stevie Moore well know that there are times when their musical hero seems to get into a funk, which makes it all the more exciting when his artistic muse has clearly returned. Continuing an encouragingly strong string of releases stretching back to 2000's Love Compartment, 2004's Far Out ranks with Moore's most entertaining and sharply focused records of the last decade. Starting off with the brief "Stuart's Party," a pretty, piano-based welcoming, the disc immediately leaps into first gear with the medley of Lane Steinberg's yearning, Big Star-like "What Do I Do for the Rest of My Life" and Moore's own "Don't Bore Us, Get to the Chorus," the sort of multi-part pop operetta that Paul McCartney was so fond of in the Wings days, and truly one of Moore's finest songs. Other highlights include a pair of tracks from Moore's upcoming full-length collaboration with U.K. psych-pop cult hero Terry Burrows, a rambling live recording introduced by Dr. Demento, a couple of Moore's usual oddball cover choices (Daniel Johnston's "Cathy Cline" re-imagined as a sweet country tune, and a fascinating version of Matching Mole's "Starting in the Middle of the Day, We Can Drink Our Politics Away"), and a simply beautiful, almost orchestral instrumental rearrangement of Moore's 1977 classic "Don't Let Me Go to the Dogs." With Far Out, Moore's artistic renaissance continues.