NATURAL
SIGNS
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TALES OF CONTENTMENT Dragon Dance - James Rydell - Dirty Weekend - Cara Chiara - Sophia's Choice - Kinks - New England - It's Hip to Trip - Tir Nan Og - Tales of Contentment 1998 JV-002 Hilary
Ashe-Roy - flutes Price: £10 - to order click here |
| "Not
knowing any better, I will rashly attempt to classify this album as "New Age
Swing" using a liberal mixture of real instruments and synthesised sound. It
mixes in folk elements from Africa, the Celtic world, the Middle East, and fuses them with
skill. There is something about the sound of a body of synthesised strings with slow
vibrato that makes me think of staring into the green, sunlit depths of San Francisco Bay.
Quite nice, really, in mild doses, but I was utterly caught out by the mystery
visitor on "Dirty Weekend" - a real live saxophone or, hang on, was he real?
I always thought I could spot the difference: There is no mistaking the
reality of Alan Corbet's piano or of Hilary Ashe-Roy's redoubtable flute which features in
many guises, all of them dazzling. Arrangements are slick, imaginative and
spotlessly executed, largely thanks to Paul Brook's efforts with the arrangement and Andy
Thomson's clever direction. Finding myself desperate for anything to criticise,
there are just a couple of things: track 7, which could have been nice, was spoilt
by some weird cabinet making, and in track 8 the general decibel level was unaccountably
high. End of beef. This is a foot-tapping album with plenty of colour and
variety. Submit to retail therapy. Don't be without it, man." Richard Stagg, PAN, Magazine of the British Flute Society |
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