|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
review by Bill Binkelman Keyboardist Stephen Page and guitar player Richard Churchyard's album, Spiritual Oasis may surprise a few people. It did me. Because of the title and the album graphic (a tropical sunset picture), I was expecting a serene low-key musical affair. Now, don't get me wrong, the four tracks (ranging from ten to twenty minutes in length) are not high energy musical numbers. On the other hand, they are not exactly quiet pieces either (except for "Calm," the third track, which is more ambient-like in nature than the others). I think the key word in the album title is "Spiritual" rather than "Oasis," as the music is quite dramatic and even carries a hint of the ethereal (in a heavenly sense, not a spacy one, i.e. Constance Demby at her more exultant). That describes Page's keyboards. Churchyard's guitars can be compared to Mark Knopfler's (either the latter's soundtrack work on pictures like Local Hero or his work with Dire Straits, circa Love Over Gold). The electric guitar (plucked, usually, not strummed) is mixed in with layer upon layer of dramatic soaring keyboards (strings, choirs, et al.) and decorated with twinkling bells here and there, and now and then you will hear digital piano. Regarding those keyboards, Page dials in the drama on the first track ("Drifting"), once it gets going. The synths virtually stream out of the speakers! Personally, I think this CD plays much better over loudspeakers on low volume than it does on headphones. On headphones, the "wall of sound" is almost overwhelming. Only on the aforementioned "Calm" do things quiet down (it's a shame this is the shortest track on the CD, although it's still over ten minutes in length). On "Calm," the sound is more akin to that of the German artist Nik Tyndall. Lower register synth choral keyboards (almost sounding like Tibetan chanting), percussive effects (including a cricket-like clicking), and wonderfully done lead synth lines blend in a near perfect track. The upper register choral samples on this song are spot on! Churchyard's guitar, which is more consigned to the background here, adds one more element to the subtle majesty of this cut. The other two tracks ("Timeless" and "Harmony") are in the same vein as "Drifting." Each song, by the way, is ushered in with the sounds of water lapping at the beach's shore. "Harmony" is the closing track and it's over twenty minutes long. It starts off slowly with Churchyard's Knopfler-like guitar work going nearly solo against sparse piano and minimal keyboards, but soon enough things progress into a slow tempo rhythmic wall of sound again. There is recognizable continuity throughout the three similar pieces, comprised of some similar melodic refrains and motifs that repeat here and there. In some ways, you could consider this album to be the new age music equivalent of a "long form ambient" recording. Summing up, if I was mixing the album, I might have toned things down a bit. That wall of sound wears me out when I play this on headphones. I think Page and Churchyard have fashioned an interesting concept with Spiritual Oasis; the music itself is well-produced and well-recorded. Expectations are tricky foes and once I got past the notion that I thought this was going to be a "quiet" album, I came to hear it for what it was &endash; four long pieces that slowly unwind in a continuous musical theme. If you enjoy new age music that contains lots of drama but still moves at a relaxed pace, and you also like the sound of electric guitar interspersed with lots of electronic keyboards, Spiritual Oasis deserves your consideration. |
|
