Solitaire: Ritual Ground

Solitaire - Ritual Ground | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 11, 2000)
• Original Release Date: 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Projekt Records
• ASIN: B00004TWT6
• 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: #263,236 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare, Captivating, Back in Print!, February 4, 2002

By 

M. D. MCGINLEY "Chief Highliner" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solitaire: Ritual Ground (Audio CD)

I have a new Roach favorite! The note said that this was the first time this album has been available for over nine years. And I must say that the cover is the most beautiful I've ever seen for a Steve Roach album, with its chocolate sundae appeal of a jutting rock and ancient inscriptions in the foreground of a canyon-like Martian background. "Solitaire: Ritual Ground" is a collaborative effort with fellow ambient artist Elmar Schulle, who performs with Roach on the didgeridoo, percussion, and assorted analog and digital synthesizers and drum programming. I was again able to use Steve Roach's ambient and electronic mastery as a modern anti-anxiety, anti-depressant and trance-inducing prescription.

For a while, "Quiet Music" was my top Roach favorite, but right from track One, "Black Cloud" (which is reminiscent of "Quiet Music") you are whooshed away with the characteristic, sonic combustion that make Roach and Schulle a wondrous team. "Turning World" on track two sounds exactly the same as "Dreamtime Return" and "Quiet Music" as if they were suddenly infused, syncopated and a little upbeat, and mellow waves of synthetic reverberance filling the back nicely. "North Sky" on track 3 is entirely original and entirely peaceful, floating and uplifting, but the waveform is entirely familiar, 7:25 long. I could not have imagined a better--dare I say it--sequel to "Dreamtime Return," better than Roach's "Origins" (1993) than at this point. Suddenly you are thrust back in time in "Rapt in Darkness" on track 4, with its haunting, deep overtones which contrast nicely with track 5, "Solid Ground." Pleasantly mellow percussion with a gentle, rolling oceanic sonic rush form a delicious mixture of two different worlds, ancient yet modern. "Runes" and "In the Forest of Ancient Light" on tracks 6 and 7 establish a deep and mysterious flashback to "Western Spaces," and again, "Dreamtime Return" that I won't spoil for you. But do not be mistaken. This a not a rehash of previous Roach albums, but an entirely new work, captivating and rare in its auditory appeal. "Solitaire: Solid Ground" is absolutely perfect for continuous, low-volume playback. I think they had this in mind during composure. Once again, Roach and his companions prove that he is the grandmaster of ambience.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It Come from A Forest of Ancient Light, December 20, 2000

By 

Fabio Pirovano (CIGLIANO, Vercelli ITALY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Solitaire: Ritual Ground (Audio CD)

This Cd worth buy not only for BLACK CLOUD,a good track used by MICHAEL MANN for his film HEAT,but also for IN THE FOREST OF ANCIENT LIGHT...absolutely stunning.Close your eyes and fly....

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cure for what ails you, September 2, 2000

By 

RBKendrick "rbk" (Pryor, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solitaire: Ritual Ground (Audio CD)

This music will move you. This CD has something for whatever you mood you're in---or whatever mood you want to be in. I listen to it while I'm working, while trying to unwind, or when trying to balance myself for meditation, prayer or ritual. A powerful connection between sound and soul.