STUART JONES

Massage (The Therapy Room series of recordings)

New World Music (2004)

Review by Bill Binkelman

Part of yet another "series" (The Therapy Room) of recordings from the one of the premier sources for new age music, New World Music, Massage is nothing less than I have come to expect from the English label: perfectly engineered and produced, ideally suited for its intended purpose, and a fine recording in its own right. Stuart Jones handles his assorted electronic keyboards with both a surgeon's precision and a poet's intuitive sense of style. The only problem with music this relaxing (and it is that for sure) is if you play this during a massage, you'll probably doze off and miss how good the bodywork feels (I've had my share of massages from qualified therapists and I don't want to miss a minute of one). On the other hand, as an aid to helping the person unwind beneath the skilled hands of a bodyworker, the gentle unrushed and unabashedly "pretty" music on this CD should turn even the most stressed out yuppie to putty for the massage therapist to mold and work his/her magic on (excuse the dangling preposition).

Using an assortment of typical new age sounds (bells and chimes, subtly quavering tones, plucked and strummed strings of both harp and guitar, spacy washes) as well as piano, strings, and muted chorales, Jones fashions seven tracks of lush (but not overdone) flowing music with no overt rhythms to speak of, only the inherent ebb and flow of the keyboards as they play out whatever strain or melody dominates each song. The music is relatively unstructured, but not improvisational either. I simply mean it is not structured in a verse/verse/chorus/bridge format, but is instead freely flowing, although musical motifs and phrases are certainly repeated on various tracks. This is immediately accessible music, provided one likes his/her music to be light, airy, and centered around major notes and chords; there is little, if any, trace of darkness or mystery present anywhere on the disc. This is, in my opinion, a good thing. If one is to drift off to sleep, why not to music that can't help but place pleasant and healthy images in one's mind?

With titles like "Sensual," "Bathe the Senses," "Float Away," "Gentle Glide," and "Refreshed," you can well imagine the mood that this album takes aim at, and it succeeds admirably. It is to both Jones' and New World's credit that Massage is never sappy, cheesy, or over the top, at least in my opinion it isn't. It's definitive "mood music" provided your mood is intended to be one of positive peaceful energy. I've been a fan of unadulterated new age music since the 1980s and New World Music is releasing some of the best recordings in this genre so far this decade. Massage is no exception. It's an excellent recording and I recommend wholeheartedly to fans of electronic keyboard new age music.