Images from Earth (A History of the planet through music)

Michael Thomas Berkley, Michael Berkley | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 14, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: The Orchard
• ASIN: B00000G51B
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #672,895 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Michael Thomas Berkley's conceptually ambitious debut album (subtitled A History of the Planet Through Music) is also the inaugural release for his Numinous Records label. The 26-year-old Berkley (piano, synthesizers, percussion) and his unknown but skilled gathering (additional percussion, electric and acoustic violins, electric guitar, North Indian flute, occasional voices) concoct haunting, faintly beautiful soundscapes that evoke mental images of things primordial, Paleozoic, even heavenly. If you are familiar with the work of European keyboardist Richard Pinhas or long-lost progressive keyboardist Michael Garrison, or like the idea of infusing Tangerine Dream with a world-beat mentality, Images from Earth and its shifting, enigmatic sound clusters might catch your fancy. Of special interest: the glittering pulsations of "Wave on Wave," Berkley's interpretation of mammalian expansion in post-Jurassic periods. Abstract, but not alienating; worthy of your headphones. --Terry Wood

Product Description

Images from Earth (A History of the planet through music) by Michael Thomas Berkley

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most vividly evocative albums of recent memory!, January 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Images from Earth (A History of the planet through music) (Audio CD)

Rating: ***** (out of 5)

The first full-length album from composer and producer Michael Thomas Berkley is a unique -- and uniquely effective -- concept. "Images from Earth" is a musical interpretation of the history of the planet. That's right, 4.6 billion years of geology and evolution packed onto a single CD. As overly ambitious as that might sound, the result is a modern classic of ambient and world music. Berkley's original training is in European classical music, and that sensibility is reflected in the meticulousness of the composition -- but his ethnomusicology field studies in remote parts of Africa seem to be the more dominant influence, along with threads of rhythm and melody from the Middle East, Asia, and the realms of imagination. The cuts on this recording center around electronic-based instruments layered in with acoustic piano, violin, voice, North Indian flute, and an incredible diversity of percussion. The tunes themselves range from purely atmospheric to heavily rhythmic, all serving to evoke a sense of awe at the vastness of Terran history. "Images from Earth" ranks as one of the most vividly evocative albums of recent memory -- highly recommended. -Philip Farber, Daily Freeman July, 1998

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious, but successful! Good stuff!, May 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Images from Earth (A History of the planet through music) (Audio CD)

While at first I was skeptical about the ambitious concept of the album (setting the evolution of earth to music), after hearing the album all the way through I have to admit that Berkley does a superb job of encapsulating all 4.6 billion years of earth history in a single, hour long CD. This is not to mention that the actual music is very powerful and moving.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, Superb!, March 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Images from Earth (A History of the planet through music) (Audio CD)

I think "Images from Earth" is a very well composed work, bearing a fullness of both artistic and creative expression with a thematic experience that is bold and present throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed the CD and highly recommend it.