Andy G

Starts with strong, flowing sea of sound from massed ranks of strings, drums, and saxes conjuring images of Zappa and Jean-Paul Prat, until, after a few seconds, the whole soundscape changes and you hear a solid Beefheart-style drum rhythm, ringing guitars in the background and a husky female vocal that sounds like it could have come off Brainticket's 'Cottonwood Hill' recites a short lyric over this, finishes and then the percussive rhythms are strengthened by the addition of tablas, the guitars fade out and the soaring flow of strings and saxes returns, taking the lurching rhythms to an altogether higher plane. As distant saxes take the lead, the now-faintly echoed voice returns and the sound is so dense yet clear as a bell as the brief vocal ends and the track does too. A fantastic opener to what you will discover to be a truly unnique album. Track 2 starts with what sounds like piano and the gorgeous voice, to which are gradually added various layers of violins, bass guitar, drums and organ in various degrees of volume, creating a magical soundscape that is immaculate and highly individual, all the time, as before, retaining a towering sense of melody, cohesion and dynamics as the layers and textures flow strongly and effortlessly through the airwaves, neither rock nor jazz nor classical nor progressive, but a contemporary mix of all of these and much more besides. Track 3 begins with a cascading keyboard sequence and this time you hear added violin in the background as the voice, this time wordless, warbles away for a couple of seconds, until the whole ensemble roars in and the female vocal returns briefly, the composition changing as it goes, tablas and drums creating a Santana-like rhythm section while a combination of keyboards and trumpet provide the lead lines as the textures and layers appear and disappear as the track rolls to its conclusion. Track 4 begins as a Zappa-esque version of The Roches, all beautiful female harmonies and crystal clear backdrops from the instruments as the drum rhythms return, a flute is heard winding its way through, steel drums take a sudden lead role as the sinuous electric bass and distant blasts of the wind instruments combine to produce a fantastic soundscape, the likes of which you have never before heard, as the vocal is more ethereal and multi-tracked. Track 5 continues the instrumental mood with lurching drums, beautiful wordless female harmonies and the steel drums soon giving way to the real vocal line as a lead tabla rhythm emerges above the bass and drums rhythm that drives the piece along, this time an organ line thickening out the sound as the steel drums return andan electric guitar flies over the proceedings in suitably fusion-esque fashion, but as gorgeous as the rest of the music. Track 6 is still similarly rhythmic but more pastoral as the instruments take a lighter approach to this largely instrumental track, the combination of sounds, as throughout the album, being more important than the brief bursts of lead instrumental space that appear as the composition rolls along.for nearly 10 minutes.The final 3 tracks are instrumental and largely continue this pastoral-fusion style of music with all sorts of combinations of piano, percussion, wind, brass, keyboards and guitars giving a most amazing set of ensemble work. Make no mistake, this is fantastic, enjoyable, not easily defined or pigeon-holed, but possesses a musical quality and consistency, the like s of which you will rarely find in any but the exceptional classics of serious music down the years. It is accessible, enjoyable, complex, immaculately produced, brilliantly played and composed and as a work of 20th century music, is utterly timeless and one of the truly great pieces of modern contemporary music.