Customer Reviews

In Concert

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

 

 

Years ago I owned the "In Concert" LP, BTW thats 'a microgroove phonograph record...'. Unfortunately, I lost it. But, for years, that subtle music stayed with me.

What a surprise that more than twenty years later it finally comes back as a CD. Was it really that good? Yup. To me, in its own way, it is as powerful as the more recent double CD "Oregon in Moscow".

Not being an audiophile, can't give a critique of the CD quality; at least it has no scratches and pops, like my old LP.

Give it a few listens to let it soak in. Such a wonderful full rich sound. For example, the piece "Summer Solstice" is so undescribable. At one point, about five minutes six seconds in, it phase shifts and one could almost hear a melding of many musical forms into one, the drumming and guitar work even evoke a trace of spanish flamenco tap dancing for a few nano seconds.

Something magical happens when four individuals were meant to play
music together, and sometimes it is successfully recorded as in this work.

What an album. The title may say in concert,but its really recorded it a studio with some invented friends. But that doesn't take a way from this group. The music is peaceful and gentle in some areas:Summer Solitice Yet To Be,and in parts of Undertow or Tryton Horn there is noodling and free-form going on. The songs by Ralph Towner some (from his solo albums) are beautiful and can really ease the mind. The band shows real talent and love for music in this warm record.

When I first heard this album 30 years ago it blew me away -- and when I listened to it again tonight it blew me away still. The musicality of it is wonderful, for sure: but what matters to me most is its breathtaking (and giving) sweep of emotion. I challenge anyone to listen to "Yet to Be" and remain unmoved. Simply one of the most beautiful pieces of modern music ever recorded. Ralph Towner is a creative genius -- and this album pure pleasure.