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review by Dene Bebbington What The Sacred Well offers is a kind of greatest hits album which includes a couple of specially composed tracks (the first and last), so it should especially appeal to those fans of 2002 who want to complete their collection. All the remaining tracks, bar one, are from their own albums, the exception is "City of Peace" taken from the various artists album Freedom to Love. For those people who have never heard 2002's music before (are there any new age fans who haven't?!) it's doubtless a good introduction to their music. It's all very pleasant, yet there's a sense in which you feel that after hearing a few of their tracks you know what to expect from subsequent tracks and other albums. Needless to say The Sacred Well is classic 2002: angelic wordless vocals, harp and other string sounds, gentle synths, flutes, piano etc. The first time I heard their music it struck me as a lighter and more acoustic version of Enya (and to a less extent, Enigma) but with wordless vocals. On balance, I think their music sits at a good position in the new age spectrum - it's not too sweet but doesn't eschew emotion. The two tracks composed for this album, "Stardust" and "Full Circle," are typical 2002, with "Stardust" being strongly reminiscent of Enya due to the style of the layered vocals and the opening rhythm. These two tracks contain lyrics as well as wordless vocals. To find out what 2002's music is like this is a good place to start, and it's worth getting ahold of simply for the track "The Calling" in my opinion - this is a brilliantly stirring and evocative piece. I wish they'd done more in the vein of "The Calling," if for no other reason then it shows they are able to venture out of the strictly new age confines. Nonetheless, their music is pleasant, melodic, and uplifting. |
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