RON BOOTS

Dreamscape

Groove Unltd. (2003)

review by Bill Binkelman

Dreamscape (a collection of remastered tracks from albums originally recorded in 1989 and 1990, with one new additional song added) reminds me why I love electronic music in the first place. We're talking pure unadulterated electronic music, not ambient nor any current-day incarnation of the genre. No, this is music back from the days when artists like Ray Lynch, Suzanne Ciani, Jean Michel Jarre and Boots himself released albums that celebrated the unique musical qualities of synthesizers themselves. And does this album perfectly capture the magic, drama, joy and mystery that albums like Equinoxe, Deep Breakfast, and Seven Waves filled me with all those years ago.

From the powerful opening track, "Cougarland," with its driving midtempo rhythms, pulsing synth-chorals, and flute-like sounds, all the way through to the two-part title track, which unfolds electronic gifts galore over its twenty-one minutes (ranging from the gentle bell-tone spacemusic at the outset through sequenced reverberations peppered over layers of keyboards which build in intensity and move through other phases, such as soaring lush chords before delving into shadowy washes coursing under plaintive Spanish acoustic guitar and a spoken word dialogue in, what else, Spanish, eventually morphing into an explosion of pounding rhythms, Lynchian vibe-like notes, and dramatic synth washes), Dreamscape sounds as fresh and alive with artistry and wonderment as anything "new" I've heard in years. Yet, these are not re-recorded tracks, just remastered ones. Hearing this with "fresh" ears now, in 2003, it's mind-boggling that Boots was not a household name along with those I wrote earlier (of course, maybe he was, but just not in the United States).

Whatever the answer to that puzzlement is, the fact remains that Dreamscape is one fantastic CD. "The Stand" elicits comparisons to Lynch's best snappy electronic "pop" such as "Celestial Soda Pop" (albeit strung out for fourteen minutes so it's still accessible and "fun" but not really within the confines of being radio-friendly). "Silent Nature" folds in gentle environmental sounds at the beginning (used with utmost discretion) under developing waves of electronic keyboards that ever-so-slowly build in intensity, but never to the point of distraction (the warmth of the music reminded me of Danna and Clement's "To the Land Beneath the Sea" until a gentle loping rhythm track is introduced). "Rivers" (which, as a re-worked version titled "Rivers 2003" is the final track on the CD and the only new song here) will surely remind you, as it did me, of how emotionally powerfully electronic music can be as washes of keyboards flow over a slow steady cadence of synth beats-a true "ode to joy" for EM if ever there was one as it ramps up the rhythm's pace and electronic drama throughout the seven-plus minutes.

It's interesting to speculate on and wonder at how this remastering of tracks from over ten years ago will probably end up near the top of my "Best of 2003" list come year's end, but I'm confident it will happen. My gushing praise of this music should not be construed as a knock on anything that Boots or others like him are recording nowadays, but there is something about this particular kind of EM that reminds me of the "good old days" and the timeless quality of music which is borne of inspiration and talent unfettered by any restraint that now inhabits our mass consciousness. For fans of the artists I mentioned above (earlier in the review), or if you were acquainted with Boots back in the early 1990s, this new Dreamscape CD is, simply, a must have. Trust me on this one, children - you can't possible be disappointed. Oh, and the one new track here, "Rivers 2003," reminds me that current-era Ron Boots still kicks major ass when it comes to recording dramatic sweeping EM, as he invigorates the earlier version with a healthy dose of modern synthetic/electronic textures while still retaining the sense of joy that permeates the original. May the gods bless Ron Boots and may he revisit his past as often as he wants to, as far as I'm concerned.