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review by Bill Binkelman When I first listened to Pure Meditation, I thought "Hardly anyone makes new age music like this any more." My surprise lasted until I looked closely at the liner notes and saw that the music was originally copyrighted by the artist, John Keech, in 1995. These kind of soothing electronic keyboards are seldom heard these days in new age music. The opening title track offered ample evidence of this. The flowing undercurrent of keyboards, the gently pulsing synth bass beats, the crystalline notes, and the way they all worked in harmony was a staple of new age music in the late '80s and early '90s, when artists like Robert Haig Coxon, Jon Mark and Philip Elcano were releasing great albums. As a result, Pure Meditation contains not just superb new age music but also holds a strong nostalgic appeal to someone like me who remembers those earlier days. When you read the CD's track titles (e.g. "Sandstream," "Sweet Vision of Rain," "Desert Dreaming," et al.) you can rightly assume you will be treated to soothing instrumental music that features major key melodies predominantly and is comprised of washes of electronic keyboards and sparking notes, working in conjunction with assorted synthesizer textures and colorings. The title track compares favorably to James Asher's earlier works, such as the last several songs on The Great Wheel. "Soaring on the Wings of The Astral Body" is even more sedate and serene, aglow with cascading synths, bell tones, and warm choir-like keyboards. "Boundless Dunes of Tranquillity" continues the peaceful vibe, this time blending muted electric piano with male and female chorale effects and twinkling bells. You either love this kind of music, as I do, or you don't. Despite the flowery song titles, the music itself is "heart on your sleeve" unpretentious. The warmth and enveloping serenity of "Sweet Vision of Rain" (with its subtle synth horns and flutes, chorales, and electronic textures) either speaks to you and holds you in its gentle embrace or you're simply a cynic and reject this as being too sugary or too bland (neither comment of which I hold to). I'm not going to tell you this is shatteringly original (although it's not cookie-cutter either) but, to my way of thinking, the liner notes are not far off when they describe Pure Meditation as "some of the finest soothing music perfectly suited for meditation." I don't know as I would meditate to this (it's actually more enjoyable to listen to directly and indulge in the lovely melodies and faultless engineering), but "soothing" it surely is. If the music of Liquid Mind is too monochromatic for you or Jon Mark's work is too melancholy, this recording might prove the perfect balance between the two. At the least, you will get the chance to hear electronic keyboards playing superb "traditional" new age music the way it used to be. And that is more than enough for me to give this a highly recommended. |
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