2002

This Moment Now

Real Music (2003)

review by Dene Bebbington

This is the latest album from husband and wife duo Randy and Pamela Copus. Given their standing and popularity in the new age genre it's surely going to be popular with their fans since it has all the familiar 2002 elements. The only obvious deviation from their tried and tested formula is one track featuring lyrics sung by Randy.

The theme of This Moment Now is love, whether that be love for another person or love in a general sense. Judging by the albums of 2002 that I've heard so far I'd say that most, if not all, their music is suffused with a sense of love of one sort or another anyway. When I read about this CD before first playing it I was concerned that it may be too sugary and sweet so that listening becomes the aural equivalent of eating candy floss (that's something which I think is the downside of a certain amount of new age material), but thankfully it's not.

The opener "Suddenly Yours" sets the mood straight away with a gentle piano melody accompanied by gossamer vocals of the wordless kind, strings, and other effects. Following on from this are ten further pieces exploring various aspects of love, from the personal "Dreaming of You" to the more general, and slightly symphonic sounding, "A Gate of Dreams." It's certainly a pleasing and positive listening experience, even if the motifs and style have been heard before on previous albums. The one departure is on "Moment of Love" which features Randy singing in an alto voice, sounding a little like Jon Anderson of Yes and Jon & Vangelis fame. I didn't think these vocals worked well, but your mileage may vary - as they say on the Internet.

Fans of 2002 are sure to enjoy This Moment Now. It's pleasant and easygoing music that is restful to listen to and would be a good choice of music for romantic moments.