|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
review by Bill Binkelman This all-instrumental album from versatile artist Oldfield (some of his previous recordings feature vocals) is easily as good as many "classic" new age music/nature sound albums, e.g. Dean Evenson's Desert Moon Song and Forest Rain. It's been quite awhile since I have heard such lovely, peaceful, and melodic new age music that successfully balances acoustic and electronic instruments with well-recorded nature sounds. A Time For Peace is an apt title for this exemplary work, as every track exudes a calming influence. Each piece features gentle melodies, played on a combination of electronic keyboards, piano, and assorted wind instruments (flutes, pan pipes, Irish low whistle) unwinding with grace and beauty. Most, if not all, of the music on this CD is soft and romantic in nature, yet it's never mushy or saccharine. Oldfield is obviously a sincere artist who intends on making the planet a better place with his gift of music. "Full Moon" opens the album with chirping crickets and a gentle wash of keyboards, soon joined by a haunting melody played on soprano flute. Oldfield's adroit, almost surgical, skills in layering in his keyboard fills and accompaniment are immediately evident. Measuring just the right amount of synth strings to bring into a mix is not as easy as you may think it is, based on my hearing many inferior examples through the years. Oldfield has an innate sense of how much embellishment the music needs throughout the CD, including when to let the keyboards take a more prominent role. Despite an overwhelming peaceful vibe to the album, there is subtle variety here, too. "Joy" blends the hum of cicadas with muted didgeridoo, soprano flute, and somewhat melancholic synthesizers, before minimal piano is folded in as the sound of cicadas falls away. Things take a turn into warmer territory, as the music climbs into major scale melodies and introduces delicate synth-bells counterpointed against the wafting flute lead lines. "Stream" (featuring coursing water sounds and birdsong), is minimal and faintly Asian in feel, comprised of bamboo flute and gently swelling and subsiding synths. On headphones, the nature recordings on this track are superb, with a wide soundfield and the flowing water placed at the periphery of the music where it serves as ideal window-dressing. Oldfield introduces different motifs throughout the CD, but seldom strays from an unforced gentility, only briefly bringing in moments of drama or rhythmic elements. "A New Day" offers up fleeting "whooshing" synths, which fit the theme of dawn. On "Arrival" Oldfield includes acoustic guitar intermixed with flute and bell-tone keyboards, as well as some midtempo trap drum kit rhythms, although they are subdued enough that they do not disturb the song's flow (being more recognizable on headphones). Heralded by the crack of thunder, "After the Rain" uses pan pipes to evoke a rainforest, alive with life, especially when the pipes are floating above cheerful piano and lush lower register synth strings. A Time For Peace enchanted me from the first playing. I don't consider myself a "fan" of Terry Oldfield's previous work, but I always knew he was talented. After this recording, I'm contemplating a return trip to explore some of his previous albums. If ever a world needed music to soothe the restless spirit and calm the troubled heart, it's the here and now. Thankfully, Terry Oldfield has delivered an antidote for stress and crisis with this wonderful album which earns both my highest recommendation as well as a spot on my "best of the year" list. |
|
