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review by Bill Binkelman If you listen to Michael Dulin's latest CD, Atmospheres, expecting to hear spacemusic or floating electronic keyboard pieces (owing to the cover art of a crescent Earth suspended in the blackness of outer space) you will be disappointed. I know because I was. That's a good example of a bad practice, i.e. judging a book by its cover (which you'd think, after reviewing hundreds of CDs, I would have learned not to do by now). Instead of spacemusic, what pianist/keyboardist Dulin offers up on Atmospheres are eleven accomplished and heartfelt compositions that hew closer to the new age romanticism of accessible, but not overly "pop" sounding, piano music. In addition to his solid piano playing on the album, Dulin also embellishes some tracks with his (as usual) tasteful and perfectly engineered synthesizers (the same keyboards which were the highlight of his collaborative effort with flutist Chuck Offutt, Balance of Nature). While I sometimes longed for even more electronic keyboards on this recording, that's because Dulin is so damn good at 'em and also because, well, I like 'em! Once I discarded my preconceptions, I realized that Atmospheres was a leap forward from the artist's previous piano release, The One I Waited For. His compositions are more refined, more self-assured, less clichéd, and all in all, more satisfying to someone like me who has heard a lot of piano music. Most of the pieces here are gentle and relaxed and almost always in a romantic and sentimental vein, such as the opening title track and the next song, "Once Upon a Time" (marking the first appearance of Dulin's discrete synths adding a nice dimension to the piano). "Mirage," the third cut, opens with even more pronounced electronic keyboards working in harmony with piano, reminding me very favorably of Wayne Gratz at his best. The song is wistful and reflective, helped immeasurably by twinkling (but sparsely used) bell tones. Elsewhere on the album, Dulin also crafts Americana-tinted pianoscapes ("Common Faith"), soft-as-a-feather quiet slices of solitude ("Nocturne") and even visits Scotland on "The Highlands" (featuring an incredible opening passage and some of Dulin's spot-on synth string applications). Atmospheres closes with "Night Rhythms," which starts off as a 2 am cocktail lounge jazzy piece and segues into a lively sexy samba-like number (complete with sampled hand drums softly pounding out a sensuous beat). Don't make the same pre-judging mistake I did with Atmospheres and you'll recognize it for what it is - an excellent collection of piano (enhanced with the occasional keyboards) instrumentals, expertly recorded, and accessible enough for the neophyte listener yet not too slick or commercial sounding. Walking that delicate tightrope takes a special talent and obviously Dulin has it. Recommended. |
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