Key

Michael Gettel | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 29, 1994)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Narada
• ASIN: B000005P3T
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,784 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A marvellous, August 6, 2003

By 

Javi (Marbella, Spain) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Key (Audio CD)

The Key is an album with a very self-biographical feel. Pianist Michael Gettel and his ensemble musicians creates a very nice atmosphere full of serenity, feeling and a sense of adventure in every track. After a few listens you feel that's sort of the story of a spiritual search.

The first track, 'The Waiting' is just a prelude to 'Turning of a Key', introducing its main melody. 'Turning' is a great opening to the album, expressing a lot of optimism and showing a great mixture of instruments together in an upbeat and fluent rythm.

'Breaking the Silence' is a very original track with a very new agey-ethnic opening, and then a very disco-like, unexpected rythm appears. There's a very elegant piano on it with a very sensitive oboe part as well. 'When Hearts Collide' is a much more predictable track but takes further the optimistic feel of almost the whole album.

'The Search' features the voice of a singer who appears greeted by the own Gettel for being "his own voice" in this song.

'Glimmer of Hope' is a gem, a brethtaking, almost ambient song that has a very slow and full of mistery atmosphere. It begins with the first few piano notes of the album. The piano describes a lot of meditative, bitter and sweet thoughts and feelings and it all develops really slowly until a more optimistic feel grows and grows, and then the drums and electric guitar from the prolific Paul Speer explode in a very rocky, if still serene flight until it all fades away.

'Broken' and 'Light of a Candle' are linked into one piece and there a sad and slow melody turns into a very dramatic and upbeat rythm keeping the same melody, just as if it told about a person that lives a depression and gets over it.

The next track, 'Letting Go' is a perfect and clever turn into a very much fresher mood, it starts with a very clear and precise sequence of electric piano chords and then a fretless bass and a voice draw a very interesting melody, until it all gets to a terrific climax of voices, drums and basses. Then there is a beautiful part with oboe and it all comes back again to this shower of high quality music thundering around. A highlight not even from this album, but for every instrumental music you ever heard.

The last two tracks expres a very happy feeling, just like a spiritual "home" returning. 'The Awakening' is just a marvellous track full of energy and light, in wich Michael Gettel's skill as a piano player and a composer get to the best and a nice work on guitar by Paul Speer is done. 'Through the Doorway' is like a happy farewell for the album at the end of which some bits from the second song, 'Turning of a Key', sound again, just like showing the completeness of this wonderous musical travel.

A must hear for everybody.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem, June 17, 2004

By 

Javier Navas "Hello amigos" (Milenrama, Madrid) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Key (Audio CD)

The Key is an album with a very self-biographical feel. Pianist Michael Gettel and his ensemble musicians creates a very nice atmosphere full of serenity, feeling and a sense of adventure in every track. After a few listens you feel that's sort of the story of a spiritual search.

The first track, 'The Waiting' is just a prelude to 'Turning of a Key', introducing its main melody. 'Turning' is a great opening to the album, expressing a lot of optimism and showing a great mixture of instruments together in an upbeat and fluent rythm.

'Breaking the Silence' is a very original track with a very new agey-ethnic opening, and then a very disco-like, unexpected rythm appears. There's a very elegant piano on it with a very sensitive oboe part as well. 'When Hearts Collide' is a much more predictable track but takes further the optimistic feel of almost the whole album.

'The Search' features the voice of a singer who appears greeted by the own Gettel for being "his own voice" in this song.

'Glimmer of Hope' is a gem, a brethtaking, almost ambient song that has a very slow and full of mistery atmosphere. It begins with the first few piano notes of the album. The piano describes a lot of meditative, bitter and sweet thoughts and feelings and it all develops really slowly until a more optimistic feel grows and grows, and then the drums and electric guitar from the prolific Paul Speer explode in a very rocky, if still serene flight until it all fades away.

'Broken' and 'Light of a Candle' are linked into one piece and there a sad and slow melody turns into a very dramatic and upbeat rythm keeping the same melody, just as if it told about a person that lives a depression and gets over it.

The next track, 'Letting Go' is a perfect and clever turn into a very much fresher mood, it starts with a very clear and precise sequence of electric piano chords and then a fretless bass and a voice draw a very interesting melody, until it all gets to a terrific climax of voices, drums and basses. Then there is a beautiful part with oboe and it all comes back again to this shower of high quality music thundering around. A highlight not even from this album, but for every instrumental music you ever heard.

The last two tracks expres a very happy feeling, just like a spiritual "home" returning. 'The Awakening' is just a marvellous track full of energy and light, in wich Michael Gettel's skill as a piano player and a composer get to the best and a nice work on guitar by Paul Speer is done. 'Through the Doorway' is like a happy farewell for the album at the end of which some bits from the second song, 'Turning of a Key', sound again, just like showing the completeness of this wonderous musical travel.

A must hear for everybody.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific, November 5, 2007

By 

Jeff Miller (Elizabethtown, KY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Key (Audio CD)

I bought this album on tape when it came out. I played it so much it broke. I now have the CD and play it almost every night. For me, it's just timeless and perfect. The music just lifts me up and soothes me; puts me in mind of a peaceful autumn afternoon.

13 years later, it is still THAT GOOD.