Across the Sea of Id: Way to Eden [Enhanced]

Black Sun Ensemble | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Camera Obscura
• ASIN: B0019R2QUK
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #500,371 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. St. Cecilia

2. Walking Down Rosemary Lane

3. La Paz

4. Blues for Rainer

5. Across the Sea of Id

6. Perelandra

7. Baphomet's Curse

8. Angel de La Guardia

9. Eden Song

10. Sky Pilot Suite: Dove of the Desert/Clear Yellow Days/Bleeding Heart/Lo

11. Evil Spirit

Editorial Reviews

Quite possibly the final BSE release after an illustrious career of nearly 25 years. It marks a return to the beloved semi-acoustic style of their first few releases, and also - due to public demand! - contains no vocals. It is a mixture of new readings of past tracks & new compositions. The new material offers a singular, dreamy vision of BSEÕs potentially final works. The two title tracks, Across the Sea of Id and Eden Song, are reflective, yet hallucinatory explorations into Jesus AcedoÕs unique compositional & melodic sensibility. While Angel de la Guardia has a refined yet explosive rock swagger, it is balanced by the meditation Perelandra & La Paz. The CD also contains a video of the band performing the signature BSE piece "Dove of the Desert"

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars BSE comes full circle, September 10, 2008

By 

Space Probe "Space Probe" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Across the Sea of Id: Way to Eden (Audio CD)

Initial word rumored that Black Sun Ensemble's 2008 album might in fact be its last -- only time will tell on that score. If so, it's a fine, beautifully moody way to bow out; while not explicitly returning to the band's earliest days, much of Across the Sea of Id has a spare, moodily tripped sound to it that relies on space and the sound of acoustic instruments creating textures and fills that match the queasily electronic flow of the band's compositions. It's also a mix of reinterpretations of past songs and fully new ones, an interesting blend of past and present that serves as both summary and self-contained effort. The core duo of Jesus Angel de Paz and Eric Johnson sound as solid as ever -- having seen his sound (and his band) go from obscure, out-of-sync-with-the-times pursuit to touchstone for any number of acts worldwide doesn't seem to have affected Angel de Paz in terms of pursuing his muse. Whether it's the delicate sitar filigrees on "Walking Down Rosemary Lane" or the acoustic guitar amid the echoing feedback tones on "Perelandra," he relies on his and Johnson's abilities to suggest moods strictly through music rather than vocals and succeeds with aplomb. Occasional guest work adds to the sound of the album without changing its straightforward nature -- if the saxophone work of Brian Maloney is sometimes uneven, though definitely adding a haunting, lost edge to "Acros the Sea of Id" itself, John Axtell's violin on a remake of the song "Blues for Rainer" is a stellar turn. The highlight is perhaps "Baphomet's Curse," first released in 2006 and turned here into a gently joyful jam that is among the most serenely welcoming work Black Sun Ensemble have ever recorded, a soft sunrise of a performance.
-All Music Guide