Customer Reviews

Century Seasons: Space Music of John Serrie

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Jonn Serrie is my favorite of all space musicians. I first encountered his music at the Flandrau Planetarium in Tucson. After the show I raced to the gift counter for information on the soundtrack which lead me to the local open-all-night record store to purchase his CD "And the Stars go with you" played that night. Century Seasons is a glossy and seamless compilation of futuristic music from his many CDs. "Gentle the Night" and "The Far River", are two fabulous songs from the above named album and are included in this collection.

It is difficult to select the best of anything for that is always subjective, however, one of my favorites the gorgeous "Blue Lumia" from his album Ixlandia is not included here and that is the singular disappointment that I have on this otherwise perfect showcase of his vast talent and imagination.

On side one song 6 "Tingri Maiden", from his album Tingri, is so soothing that it can melt any and all stress and leave one feeling smoothly relaxed, uplifted and happy at the same time. On side two my favorite is song 7, "Glyder" from his excellent album FlightPath that is guaranteed to knock you out if you are ready for sleep. The final two songs are "Ancient of Days" and "The Last Secret" from his CD Midsummer Century and they are stunningly gorgeous.

Listening to Jonn's music is so effortless that one may find oneself suddenly floating on his shimmering, glassy sounds and drifting into a deeply meditative space. His greatest talent is to create a beautifully textured, melodic, ambient place where one can take a deep breath along with those he creates with his airy synthesizers and simply be. These are moments to treasure when, released from the need to concentrate on anything, one is embraced with feelings of pure bliss.

He sprinkles a variety of special effects here and there adding glitter and sparkle like the stars that he invites you to imagine seeing with his sound paintings. His soundscapes are both rich and sparse, near and far and never, ever, boring.

Reading his personal statements in the CD booklet for this album it is apparent that Jonn is a deeply spiritual man. This essence is very clearly expressed in his music. One can sense that he has, if only in imagination, actually touched the stars for his musical vision is so otherworldly.

Serrie imparts this exquisite sense of wonder and release in his music. It is there for those moments when stress overamps one's ability to cope and the need to escape for awhile is urgent. Jonn's way is a very cool way to let it all go and deeply relax.

As soon as my copy of "Century Seasons" arrived, I put it into my CD player and spent the next two hours in heaven. Jonn's latest release is a compilation of pieces Jonn has released on previous albums along with two new pieces. One, "Andromeda Dream" was composed just for this CD. The other, "Deep Mystery" is from a new CD called "Lumia Nights" that will be released soon. But the important thing about "Century Seasons" is that it is a masterfull work of editing where each song blends with the next allowing for uninterrupted listening enjoyment. If you are new to Jonn's music, get this double CD set first to see what everyone else already knows .. Jonn sets your musical spirit free to fly to the limits of your imagination!

I've been a "space music" fan since the early 80s. I've got most of the popular artists from Shultze to Kitaro, but Jonn Serrie is my favorite! I've got all his albums except his Christmas recording. In my opinion, he's the true space music musician. He being a pilot and having written ambient music for planetariums-his work represents the closest one can get to audible "in your mind's eye" space flight!! His harmonies and transitions from major to minor keys are elixer to the soul! His work is very esoteric and soothing. My favorite piece is Stratos from his first album, And The Stars Go With You. Unfortunately, it's not on this release. This release is a compilation of the best of his other work plus two new pieces. With Jonn's music, one can day dream, night dream or have as a background in any setting! So don't delay. Purchase this album from perhaps the greatest of all the "new age" artists!! Then get comfortable. Put your cares and woes in "neutral". Put your mind on autopilot and cruise!!

First, let me reiterate my passion for this man's music (see my review of his first release, AND THE STARS GO WITH YOU)...when I first heard that he was doing a best-of collection, inwardly I kind of yawned, since I already owned all of his CD's. But when I heard he was segueing on piece of music into another, to make one long, continuous meditation for each CD, I leaped into action to get a copy ASAP. I only have 2 criticisms...first being, that he didn't include "Fantasy Passages" from his first album, which to this day remains one of my two favorite compositions (the other being "The Ancient of Days"). Second, and more important, is a noticeable defect in the master recording process during the first selection of CD 1--6 minutes and 50 seconds into "Gentle; the Night" there is an audible scraping sound, the origin of which I couldn't begin to pinpoint. I have written to both Jonn and Miramar Music about this, and so far have received no reply. (This is after going through 3 copies of the set from Amazon.com.) I could not accept this inferior product from them OR from Jonn, and I hope that in due time this defect will be removed. Until then, I will hold off owning a copy of this magnificent collection. ...

This cd is a compilation from previous
releases - releases which contained a mixture
of deep space music as well as some of Jonn's
more romanticly inclined music. Recognizing that
a large portion of his audience desired a purer
and more consistant release of his space music,
Serrie released Century Seasons.
If you don't have this double cd,it is truely worth
owning. Serrie is clearly among the very best
at what he does, and what he does rewards the ear
with every listening.

Other releases in this vein include:
Planetary Chronicles Vol. 1;
Planetary Chronicles Vol. 2;
And The Stars Go With You;
and his most recent: Stargazer's Journey

John Serrie is my favorite space musician and I think this might be his best. Of course it is 2 cd's and a compilation but it does select excellent picks. I have all of his cd's and they are all the best. Some of his older music is difficult to find and might be why this cd came out. All of his music is hauntingly beautiful and spacey. If you only get one of his, this is a good choice. I can't get enough of him. Get them all and take a trip to outer and inner space. Peace and love to all hearts of space.

To my mind, Jonn Serrie is the best at whatever music he creates. This collection of his music is a must have for Space Cadets everywhere. One of the things I like very much about his work is that it has a really lyrical, musical quality to it. It is not composed of "noise" or long droning tones. Some of the pieces, such as Century Princess and Gentle the Night, always cause listeners in Alaska to phone in a ask me how I found music that WAS the aurora. I agree. This is what the aurora would sound like, if only it could play a synthesizer. Take the door off the outhouse, look at the sky, and "May the Stars Go With You"...

The ultimate space music compilation, even though it is by a single artist, could not have been any more well written or crafted together in this sucession. Night after night, this CD set teleports to the most distant points of the spacetime continuum. It is a spacecraft with no limitations. It is the mortal enemy of daily stress. It laughs at Einstein's Theory of Relativity. Where do you want to go tonight? I thought I would find myself becoming tired of repeated listenings to this album, but I very happy that that has not become the case. One thing it is not is daylight hour music - for some reason, rays from the sun deprive this music of its powerful effect. For best results, use with starlight.

If you want to get a good cross section of Jonn Serrie's space music this is the CD to get. As for space music per se, you'll have a hard time finding something that beats this, and I think some of the best were left out. "Sky Safari" and "Deep Starship" from "Flightpath" are not here but "Glyder" is. If you really like this collection I would say the next disc to get is "Flightpath". "Tachyon Directive" from "Ixlandia" is here, and definitely deserves to be. Listen to this song at high volume, there's nothing quite like it.

Of course any "best of" compilation isn't going to include all of the best. This is no exception. But then again, we all have different musical tastes. If you've never heard Jonn Serrie's music before, or have heard only some, this is an excellent cd. It certainly contains many of his deeply gorgeous tunes, but not ALL of them. That would have been like having cake for dinner and more cake for dessert. This compilation includes a little broccoli and beans. I already own all his cd's, and was tempted to purchase this cd only because it has two previously unreleased tunes on it, and although they are nice mellow tunes, they are not spectacularly original for Jonn Serrie. I like mellow, but too much of it gets boring. So I passed on purchasing this cd. Anyway, one of the previously unreleased tunes will be included on his next release, and hopefully that release will include new musical directions, with more upbeat rhythms. By the way, just in case any of you Jonn Serrie fans missed it, the Elevations 2 compilation (EarthTone Records, 1999) includes a previously unreleased track by Jonn, "Lovers In Motion". Gorgeous, and rhythmic! The cd is worth purchasing for that tune alone.