From Heart to Crown

Rob Whitesides-Woo

Tracks: 1—Aurora; 2—Devic Dances; 3—Coeur de Lion; 4—Heartland; 5—The River Why; 6—From Heart to Crown.

Tags: Instrumental, New Age, Meditative

Release Date: August 30, 1994

Rating: ★★★★★

A meditative, multi-instrumental presentation from a (regretfully) lesser-known master of the genre, this album is excellent for background, for a thoughtful mood, and for soothing frayed nerves after a long and tiresome day. Woo performs with harp, strings, and winds to create an aural soundscape that deserves a lot more praise and discussion, so keep reading. Continue reading “From Heart to Crown”

Tubular Bells 2

Mike Oldfield

TRACKS: 1—Sentinel; 2—Dark Star; 3—Clear Light; 4—Blue Saloon; 5—Sunjammer; 6—Red Dawn; 7—The Bell; 8—Weightless; 9—The Great Plain; 10—Sunset Door; 11—Tattoo; 12—Altered State; 13—Maya Gold; 14—Moonshine.

TAGS: Instrumental, Follow-up Album

RELEASE DATE: August 31, 1992

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

When this album first came out in 1992, I desperately wanted to like it. For one thing, the original Tubular Bells was pretty good. For another, the brain-dead trend-heads at Entertainment Weekly magazine panned the album, calling its sound “too new age”. Knowing as I do that EW is almost never right about anything, and that they rarely praise anything without being paid for it in one way or another, I was prepared to really enjoy this disc. I can still safely say that they’re dead wrong about one thing: The term “new age” has nothing whatsoever to do with this music. For the rest, however, I’m forced to admit that it really does stink. Continue reading “Tubular Bells 2”

Songs Without Words

Dudley Moore (guest artist: Kenny G on “Brogan” and “Faithfully Yours”)

Tracks: 1—Six Weeks, Part 1; 2—Waltz for Suzy; 3—Patrick; 4—Thank You, Ilich; 5—Anemone; 6—Six Weeks, Part 2; 7—Brogan; 8—Faithfully Yours; 9—Skylarking; 10—Three Blonde Mice; 11—Satie; 12—Show Biz; 13—Theme in F Minor

Release Date: October 29, 1991

Tags: Instrumental, Light Jazz, Piano, Blissful

Rating: ★★★★★

I had originally reviewed this album in 1992, a year after it came out, and I still stand by what I wrote…

I read somewhere that his agent referred to Dudley Moore as “The Wee Wonder.” Moore, who didn’t quite come up to five and a half feet, proves that the most magnificent gifts do indeed come in small packages. With an acting range that ran from the comedic Crazy People and 10 to a brilliant romantic/dramatic role in Six Weeks, Moore was less known for his musicianship. His exceptional talent as a pianist won him a “co-starring” role with Sir Georg Solti in the documentary Orchestra! Whereas he previously had Victor Borge-like comic appearances on The Muppet Show and various talk shows, it took him until later in his life for him to be recognized for his musicianship. His film soundtrack work includes Staircase and Six Weeks, and this album is a tribute to a beautiful soul. Continue reading “Songs Without Words”