Customer Reviews

Alien Encounter

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First of all, this is not a "sound effects" disc. This is New Age music of the spaciest kind. The best track on this for me is "Traveling Without Moving" - put this one on late at night with all the lights off and allow it to creep you out, which will especially be the case if you're into the mystery of UFO's, alien contact, etc. The cover art says it all - the music here very much lives up to those large black piercing eyes. I sincerely hope Phil Thornton records Alien Encounter, Vol. 2.

Whether you believe in the alien presence or not (and I do), if you're into progressive electronica and are an adventurous audio-seeker then this is quite the find.

As one who is familiar with the Visitor phenomenon, Phil Thornton's extraordinary Alien Encounter (1996) makes for an impressive complementary listen alongside one's reading of books pertaining to UFOs and their occupants.

Alien Encounter (6 tracks; 56:06) ought to at least help expand one's worldview in its hopefully causing of the listener to look questioningly skyward. It may also assist in helping one to put away mundane concerns for nearly an hour, and the allowing of oneself to go about traveling, via the mind's eye, into transmundane territories. Indeed, parts of #3 (the fabulous Another Blue Light) make me feel as if I'm behind the controls of my own spacecraft and hurtling through the interstellar expanse (what a simulation!), whooshing past kaleidoscopic visuals of glistening emerald celestial bodies and wispy stardust, somewhat reminiscent of that standout sequence in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), of phantasmogorical sidereal imagery, only sped-up.

Yes, there are 6 separately named tracks but the CD plays like one slowly evolving and fluidly transitional singular composition, with tracks 3 and 6 playing longer than the others and perhaps the only two that are distinguishable in sound; with the latter, the outstanding Visions Of The Homeworld, sounding to me, at times, haunting, jingly, and alienating.

The occasionally creepy, entirely atmospheric Alien Encounter expertly captures ethereality, with its surreal synthesizers and spellbinding rhythm. Its sound is somewhat indescribable and probably unlike any other CD you will ever encounter.

This unforgettable listening experience was released by the New World Music label (out of Suffolk, England), the same label that also gave the music world Terry Oldfield, David Sun, and Medwyn Goodall (another favorite musician of mine). The CD credits list Asher Thornton as providing the "Alien Whisper," and Jan Thornton with the "Droid Effects." The vivid, memorially-searing cover illustration is by David Penfound. The CD also includes on its back sleeve an inspirational and apt, mood-setting inscriptive-like quote by Henry David Thoreau.

A couple of months ago I heard this album played on my local community radio station. I was driving home from my parent's house and it was nighttime. It created a strange mood as I drove through the dark. It made every thing seem creepy and ominous in the darkness. Although, I wasn't listening to the music closely, it was just coloring the experience I was having (if that makes sense). I thought, "This would be the perfect thing to play outside my house on Halloween!"
I don't want to insult Phil Thornton in any way, as I'm sure this album took a lot of thought and work, but it is so perfect for creating a mood. And it is completely different than those cheesy Halloween albums with doors creaking, witches cackling, and cats screaming with a deep voiced man laughing darkly. Those are silly. This is album is the perfect backdrop for a Halloween party or just at the door for trick-or-treaters! And it has almost 50 minutes of material that blend seamlessly together. It makes it feel like it's the soundtrack to a creepy movie that you are starring in, and you're not sure what will happen to you next.

I heard the CD on a New Age music program on PBS and I found it refreshing, with sound effects, yes, but much more than that. I liked it well enough that I logged onto Amazon.com specifically with the intention of buying it.

Hello Earthlings. We are intercepting this transmission. Do not try and change the frequency. We are watching you and have sent a special encoded message in this music. Turn off your lights and wait for us to return .................................................................................................................................................. end of transmission.

Doesn't the cover say 'New World MUSIC'? This is no more than a collection of sound-effects. Very dull, lifeless and disappointing.