Fresh Aire V [Original recording remastered]

Mannheim Steamroller | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 12, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 1983
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: American Gramaphone
• ASIN: B00004WFMR
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,779 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh Aire V: A Masterpiece, July 30, 2002

By 

Ashurra (Kirkland, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fresh Aire V (Audio CD)

Fresh Aire V comes out swinging. V sees the group fresh and excited about its new direction: Namely, the use of full orchestra and choir. The first four sounded like a quartet of guys and (occasionally) an ensemble of strings. Here, it feels as if Davis has adopted his own "Wall of Sound" approach (Spector, Beatles producer.) Escape from the Atmosphere, (with its choral intro Lumen) is a 10+ minute epic musical collage that mixes in old themes with their new sound. Its lively and exciting. And Davis never sounded so good on percussion.

This is simply the best Fresh Aire album ever made. It is wildly ambitious, especially when compared to the modest changes in sound that Fresh Aire 4 attempted. It's also very thematically focused, much more so than any other album up to this date. Both of these things make Fresh Aire V a turning point in the Fresh Aire series, as Davis moved towards larger, orchestral sound and continually dismissed the olde-world rock sound. But unlike subsequent albums (excepting, of course, the equally brilliant Christmas 1984), V didn't completely forgo the coupling of old-world instruments with synth textures. Best of all, on V Davis maintains his genius sense of melody. All of these elements combine to make Fresh Aire V the masterpiece of the series.

At times they use some dated synth effects. Also Davis rehashes more Fresh Aire II themes on this album than any other one, (and he REALLY likes his FAII themes.) But overall, it shows off a group at the height of their powers. It's an essential album.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Completely Different Sound Takes the Steamroller sound..., June 26, 2001

By 

M. Ecclefield (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fresh Aire V (Audio CD)

Compared to the first four Fresh Aire albums, this album took the Steamroller sound in a completely new direction which has never quite been (though attempted) replicated since. It seems to showcase Chip Davis's ability to compose serious orchestral and choral music and still retain some originality, which hasn't been questioned since this album's release.

A tip: If the listener reads the liner notes ahead of time, the music will make much more sense. The first track, "Lumen" (which means "light") expresses Davis mastery at writing choral music. Very impressive for the first time in Mannheim Steamroller's recording history! I'm impressed at the way every song seems to flow into the next which creates a sense of movement as you read the liner notes.

"Escape From the Atmosphere" is a high-energy cut which musically follows "The Dream" (the story in the liner notes) almost identically. There's a reason it's such a lengthly piece: It takes about that long to read this part of the story!

"Dancin' in the Stars" is one of the coolest Steamroller songs ever, although it doesn't seem to fit into the story anywhere. Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all complaining. You really do feel like you can dance to this song though it isn't exactly at "dance-speed." That's the beauty of Mannheim Steamroller!

Here come the synthesizers with "Z-Row Gravity & The Creatures of Levania!" The spelling of "Z-Row Gravity" should suggest enough about its structure. Basically it's a simple repetition of a synthesizer riff (can I say Dancing Flames from FA 4?) with some other synth elements. The song does become very repetive but not annoying. Only Davis knows how to pull that off! "The Creatures of Levania" is wonderfully interspersed with many electronic and acoustic elements, which creates a decent balance not too often obtained.

"Earthrise/Return" is the definitive Mannheim Steamroller, Cambridge Singers, London Symphony piece by all accounts! This track proves once and for all that Davis has orchestral composition down and that he knows how to use every element of the London Symphony and every voice of the Cambridge Singers at his disposal.

Overall the album is an enjoyable experience. It's like watching a great movie. You don't want to listen to it constantly otherwise it loses its intial experience.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their Third Concept Album...Very Strong, August 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fresh Aire 5 (Audio CD)

This is their Third (and not their last) Concept album. This album takes you on a jouney through space and more specifically throught Johanss Kepler's imagination as you travel from Earth, to Levania, and back. What is really special about this album is the sound palette that Davis uses, both very surreal and very modern. Not to anyone's surprise, Davis starts out the album with a short chant, entitled "Lumen". The highlights of this album include the intergalactic groove of "Dancin' in the Stars", the almost psychedelic sound of "Z-Row Gravity", and the haunting "Creatures of Levania" (this piece reminds me of the X-Files Theme). The closing epic, "Earthrise/Return", brings back the triumphant feeling established by "Escape from the Atmosphere". As the album concludes with "The Storm", you awaken to find that Levania was all a dream...or was it!?