Customer Reviews

Fresh Aire V

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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!?

This is simply one of the best instrumentals series I have ever heard. Great Orchestral music. Definitely worth every penny.

This CD brings back so many wonderful memories of first listening to Mannheim Steamroller . I have not heard the songs for 15 years or more so is very nostalgic for me. The quality of the sound is my only issue. I have a Bose radio/CD player and need to turn the volume past 80 to hear it good. Other Cd's only have to turn to 60 to get great sound.

This is the best of Fresh Aire: great music and composition. I recommend it for anyone that liked the earlier releases.

This is an excellent album. Well, almost anything by Mannheim Steamroller is excellent. Can't go wrong with this one.

As a rule, many albums (especially new age ones) set out to tell a story through music and few ever succeed.

Fresh Aire V is a wonderful exception to this rule and maybe Chip's finest hour in the Fresh Aire series. Fresh Aire 5 tells of a trip to the moon and back . . . and it is brilliantly executed. Creatures of Levania is an incredible track that surprises at first but goes on to paint such images in your mind, you'll want to play it over and over again.

From take off to return this a wonderful ride of musical mood and composition. Simply a great album that rivals the brilliance of Fresh Aire 7.

For maximum enjoyment of this CD, you should read the liner notes first. The music closely follows a plot, and although you can enjoy it regardless, it helps to know what the composer intended. The first track, "Lumen", is basically monks chanting. I could have done without that. But it does tend to put you to sleep, which I guess is where the dream comes in. "Escape from the Atmosphere" is exciting and dreamy by turns (and LONG--ten minutes) and "Dancin' in the Stars" is good too. My favorite, though, is "Earthrise/Return". The euphoria of returning home is echoed in the joyous music. This is an album best listened to with headphones and no distractions. Overall great!

This is the CD that led me to buy all 7 Fresh Aires. I was going to write about how this music inspires you and transports you to another place only to find many reviews of the same nature