Customer Reviews

Paradise

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There is just something about the music that Tingstad and Rumbel create... I can't quite express why I like it so much. I really don't normally like acoustic guitar with woodwind/horn/ocarina music. Really, I don't. But these two musicains combine to create music that does not fall into all the schmaltzy, sugary musical traps which litter the road to New Age acoustic music. I truly believe that a part of their success lies in the fact that they live and work in the Pacific Northwest. Also, they make a conscious effort to create what they call "[the] capacitiy to allow people to reconnect with hearing silence. There is an art to listeneing to ends of notes, to the phrasing of passages..." (liner notes) Tingstad and Rumbel have an ability to create simple, yet complex music. Unlike many other acoustic artists in the dreaded "New Age" category, they understand that less is often better, and that subtlety allows the listener to bring his or her own imagination to the music. If you have pruchased music by Tingstad and Rumbel before, then you will not be disappointed by this CD. If you have never tried their music, I'm sure that you will find this CD wonderful to listen to and to relax your soul. Also try their previous CD "American Acoustic". And I highly recommend the solo effort by Nancy Rumbel called "Notes from the Tree of Life". I often play cuts from this CD on a Public Radio Program in Alaska, and always get calls asking about the artist.

My wife and I have been Tingstad and Rumbel fans for years, and their musical compositions just keep getting better and better. One of the things we love the most about Eric and Nancy's music is their ability to perfectly reproduce their recordings onstage--we've heard them perform live and their sound is unmistakable and indistinguishable from their recordings. Paradise matches the caliber of their previous CDs, but the new compositions are fresh and unique-- we've been waiting for some of these tunes we've heard at their performances to make this CD for years.

I own the T&R Christmas CD "The Gift" and I adore that CD. But I have to admit, I didn't know if I would like their non-seasonal stuff as much. When I think of acoustic music, elevator music comes to mind. But this is far from elevator music! There's something about T&R's style and the way they use their instruments. It is lively to the soul, and calming to the nerves. This CD has been playing in my house for days and I'm still amazed by each piece. I look forward to getting other T&R albums.

This album is a delight from start to finish. After the largely Renaissance chamber sound of Pastorale, T&R have returned to a more wide-ranging palette (recalling their 1990 classic Homeland) while keeping it intimate (a low-key rhythm section guests on some tunes). Eric's guitars ring crisp and bright as ever, and Nancy's oboe, English horn and ocarina are sweet and chipper by turns.

From the rolling, evocative opener (Sailing) we're taken on another delightful tour of nature and cultures the world over. This album is more upbeat than Pastorale, which (perhaps out of circumstance?) had some deeply melancholic themes (Savannah, Guinevere's Lament and Reverence).

The title track, The Lowcountry and The Wanderer are vintage, lyrical tunes. As You Wish, Eleganza and Ofra (a tribute to late singer Ofra Haza) expand the view, with the latter a first touch of Egyptian. The classic pastoral sound is still there in The Man From Stratford and Mansfield Park (both literary nods), as well as Village Square.

A pleasant surprise treat is the closer, Eric's lively solo The Lawnmower Song. Recalling his solo tunes Leo's Lament and Flight to Buck Mountain, hearing this toe-tapper makes me want to fly out west and hustle him back into the studio with just one guitar, for old times' sake.

Another pleasant surprise was how well the cover of Sting's tune Fields of Gold works. Apart from Christmas carols, this is the only T&R cover aside from the Bach Bourrée featured on Pastorale.

This album is another T&R triumph, another reminder of the joyous places music can take us. Eric and Nancy are the best (and most underrated) that contemporary music has to offer us. Don't miss out.

I had a favorite Tingstad & Rumbel piece on a sampler CD from Narada. Unfortunately, Pastorale was as a CD, not as good as the sample cut.

This CD, Paradise, really hits the mark. Not only does it have more varied compositions, they are far more interesting as well.

While this still is "relaxing background" music for the most part, Paradise is the best yet from Tingstad & Rumbel, and if I could only own one of their albums, this would definitely be my choice. "As You Wish" is my favorite on the album. Terrific.

Deep rich guitar solo joined by melodic oboe floating in from above that drifts into your physic and makes for a sense of serene joy.

I shy away from writing reviews that use words like 'relaxing.' Not because I don't like relaxing music - I am addicted to 'New Age,' after all. But words like 'relaxing,' or 'mellow,' don't really tell the listener what to expect, other than there are no jagged edges. A lot of this type of music is more better described as 'unobtrusive' and, frankly, I like music that draws my attention. When I say relaxing, I mean music to refocus to, not music to provide a pleasant background to my anxieties. Hence my love for Eric Tingstad and Nancy Rumbel.

This duet exhibits something that I can only call musicality. Both are superb technically, and master improvisers. But it is their ear for the nuances of harmony and song that really makes the difference. When you have to world class musicians who understand the listener and can make their instruments speak with such distinct clarity, then you have mastery. And Paradise is an album full of their best efforts.

To some degree Tingstad and Rumbel have folk roots, as is apparent in something like Mansfield Park. But don't expect only one style from them. They also excel at flashes of light jazz like their treatment of The Wanderer. This album covers their spectrum, from old standby to world beat. A superfine effort that really is 'relaxing.'

As both an oboist and a guitarist, I was quite impressed with the high level of musicianship displayed by these performers. This CD has a pleasant blend of acoustic sounds, nothing sounding synthesized or forced, with a style that for me is highly relaxing. These are obviously two talented composers and performers, playing music for themselves that does not easily fit into a prescribed category. It doesn't get much better than that.

Eric Tingstad & Nancy Rumbel are supuberb as always. I highly recommend anything they've done.

This cd is relaxing and potent. I would listen to it anytime with a glass of wine - very moody and uplifting.