Customer Reviews

Elevation, Vol. 3

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The rushing, lush "Love Song" by Ronan Hardiman opens this set with gorgeous vocals and Celtic influences over pop beats. "Rushing" by Moby is a laid-back groove with simple piano melodies on top. A sensuous female vocal is the centerpiece of Balligomingo's "Lost", and the multi-layered instrumentation over a dance beat make this a prime cut off this CD. Thomas Newman's "Lunch With The King" is taken from the "American Beauty" soundtrack, and fits the scene it was taken from perfectly. It's a differently-themed piece. Pilgramage's "Through The Seas Of Life" has some beautiful religious-themed vocals running through this up-tempo groove. Electronically cut together vocals detract from the pure danceability of Govinda's "Aspetta", especially with a lively fiddle melody that weaves in and out. "The Garden" by Faithless is a musical soundscape that combines new age, electronica and pop to create a danceable groove yet retain the new age feel. The jazzy "Blue Skies" by Soma Sonic is very trip-hop like, and includes high ethereal female vocals occasionally layered on top. Ikarus' "Bassment" almost sounds like a Fatboy Slim record with male chanting on top. This track isn't one of the better ones. "Peaceful Village" brings Japanese influences to new-age pop by way of Yasue, and does it well. A deep groove with vocals that weave in and out in a jazzy way is the trademark of Phobos' "Soul Of Desire", a simply beautiful relaxing track. The Sprit Of Eden and Davy Spillane team up on "The Sun And The Moon And The Stars", another track with an electronic beat and heavy Celtic influences. Lovely to listen to on a windy day. Dagda is electronic trance music with Celtic melodies on top, and while similar things have been done before, they do it very well. Their track, "Shades of The Otherworld" stands out here and Dagda should be a group to watch. Clair Marlo's "Celtic Groove" is exactly what it says it is, and it is also done very well. Another artist to watch. Alkaemy's "Enchantment" ends this disc, and does so in a laid-back fashion. A very subdued beat with Celtic mystic influences make this a beautiful closer for the CD. Yet another winner for Elevation.

"From the elegance of Moby to the ethnic ambience of Ikarus, the album provides a perfect mood-setting environment for all occasions." This is what the backcover says and there is nothing to add to! Excellent!

Very relaxing music and new sounds! Especially Ikarus, Faithless, Moby and Soma Sonic!

Although my favorite in this series is still the first one, there are some amazing efforts on here. It carries the same feel of world beats and exotic rhthyms as the first two did, but only the first half of this is worth listening to. PILGRIMAGE's "Through The Seas of Life" was so inspiring that I went out and bought their cd, "9 Songs of Ecstacy". BALLIGOMINGO & SOMA SONIC also turn out exceptional tunes. If you are new to the "Elevation" cd's, I strongly suggest you begin at the beginning with the first one which is fantastic all the way through.

I liked it! Nicely put together compilation. Selections well chosen & blended together nicely. I liked every track. Had a really nice feel to it. Somewhat upbeat.

I purchased this album a few weeks ago and I must say that there was some surprise listening to it. With names like Faithless, Soma Sonic and Moby I expected entirely cool downtempo vibes, but found the CD moreso had a very mellow, contemporary New Age sound. What a pleasant surprise!! So if you are a fan of New Age / World Music then this is for you. My favorite downtempo tracks are Moby "Rushing", Soma Sonic "Blueskies" and Faithless "The Garden". On the New Age / World tip I'm digging almost everything on the CD....Ronan Hardiman "Love Song", Thomas Newman "Lunch With The King", Phobos "Soul Of Desire", Balligomingo "Lost", Govinda "Aspetta", Yasue "Peaceful Village" and Ikarus "Bassment"....Great!! Can't wait for the next volume!

I still remember how excited I was when I browsed Amazon.com and finding out that a third Elevation CD was coming out and it was worth the excitement. While this CD is my least favorite of the Elevation series it still is beyond five stars. Unlike the wintery Celtic sound of the first Elevation CD or the more world pop sound of the second Elevation CD this album has a more DJ with a brighter and more pop sound that some rave fans could enjoy.

Love Song by Ronan Hardiman is a beautiful new age pop hit that has a danceable drum loop, pianos, and voices that Enya fans could enjoy. Moby's Rushing is a jazzy haunting groove with a haunting chant with a sort of DJ oriented beat. Truly a marvelous song. Moby is very talented and I might get his Play CD in the near future. Lost by Balligomingo is spectacular. It's a very haunting song with enchanting echoing vocals, a slight Asian sound and a very rich mournful atmosphere. Lunch With The King by Thomas Newman is taken from the American Beauty soundtrack. It's a short but stunning instrumental with pianos and cool bass hooks. Throught The Seas Of Life by Pilgrimage is the winner on this CD. It's a jazzy ambient song with beautiful airy sounds and what I guess are female Gregorian Chants. This is what makes me love new age music. Aspetta by Govinda is a strongly Middle Eastern track with haunting chants and a danceable beat. The Garden by Faithless is a DJ oriented song with a rave beat and is like New Age and Rave music intertwining. A truly must hear. Blueskies by Soma Sonic is a jazzy song with a hip hop beat and it works. I love this song a lot. Bassment by Ikarus is a funky song with danceable and some chants. I must admit I first hated this song but now it's one of my favorites. Peaceful Village by Yasue is a cheerful song with Japanese chanting. I don't like the vocals very much and it kind of detracts from the song. Soul Of Desire is incredible. It starts off with haunting chants and chimes. Then at about a minute into the track the actual song begins and is a wonderful song with amazing chants, and sensual spoken words. This is one sexy track. A must hear. The Sun & The Moon & The Stars by Spirit Of Eden is a strongly Celtic groovy with a cool drum loop and some chants here and there. Shades Of The Otherworld by Dagda is a strongly Celtic song with a misty grey feel. Celtic Groove by Clair Marlo is a Celtic pop song with amazing vocals and enchanting harps. Enchantment by Alkaemy is what the title says. It's a very sad song with a jazzy laid back feel. A very sad but beautiful closer to this disc that will make you want to play this entire CD all over again.

As like the first two Elevation CDs this is a great New Age compilation.

This CD is very unique compared to most New Age compilation CDs because it has a more DJ oriented sound that maybe even people who don't like new age could enjoy. Some of the songs could,ve even made a dent on the pop charts. I strongly recommend this CD to all fans of music.

And although the next Elevation CD is quite different it has some of the DJ influence of this CD on it.

Go out and buy this CD as well as the other Elevation CDs.

I hope I didn't use too many words.

Tee!Hee!

I bought this CD after the dynamite Elevations 1 and 2 and I once again am impressed with the sheer quality of the music. This CD focuses on more DJish material. Examples are Mobys 'Rushing', the funk jazz vibe of Soma Sonics 'Blue Skies' and the pure jazz funk of Ikarus ' Bassment'. The real treat on here is Balligomingos 'Lost'. The chants are like echoes of your best dreams. Go and get this CD. You'll be amazed by this CD series. Get and get Elevation 4 too. It's even better.

This being my first of the Elevation series I found myself pleased by some but a little un-drawn from others. The charming, light spirited "Love Song" by Ronan Hardiman was a perfect way of starting off the compilation, giving the album a playful, warm-hearted spray of mysticism, as does the Japanese pop hit "Peaceful Village" by Yasue, while others leave their seductive mark with slow rhythmic electronic numbers such as the Delerium-like "Lost" by Balligomingo, the passionate ambient grooves of Phobos' "Soul Of Desire" and female choir singing with Pilgrimages' "Through The Seas Of Time." The eloquence of Moby's piano playing on "Rushing" and the ethereal feel on Alkaemy's "Enchanted" will do just that. On the down side, though, there are some bumps and turns on this digital soundscape of moods. The jazzy "Blueskies" from Soma Sonic is too predictable and boring while the unadorned callings on Ikarus' "Bassment" are like a bad replication of Govinda's Shane O' Madden and at times annoying. More on the positive side, though, the Celtic dance tune "Aspetta" by Govinda and "The Garden" by Faithless are just more additions to make this a truly enlightening experience. Elevation may not be as good as the "Moods" series but is nothing short of a spectacule.

Elevation 3 is the best of the three. The selections are overall more sophistocated and listenable, especially the groovy "Blueskies" by Soma Sonic, the haunting "Rushing" by Moby, and the powerfully heartfelt "Enchantment" by Alkaemy. Other tracks such as "Aspetta" by Govinda and "Bassment" by Ikarus enrich this c.d., sparking the interest to have another listen. Of course, as with Elevation and Elevaton 2, there are some selections that might be anywhere from tolerable to a bit annoying.