Customer Reviews

Too Far to Whisper

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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First, let's get off this New Age vs fusion bus; Shadowfax were not the fusion band they'd been in the 70s, and Windham Hill were never New Age (although the New Age crowd very much enjoyed & embraced what WH did).

TOO FAR TO WHISPER continues the world fusion / pop synth direction established by THE DREAMS OF CHILDREN, if retreating somewhat from the more adventurous edges, but wonderfully augmented by talented violinist/composer Charlie Bisharat. Sometimes it works fabulously (the title track, Bisharat's "Road to Hanna"); other times it doesn't seem to go anywhere, like movie soundtrack background music. Even these have their interest as textures, though; Shadowfax may not be dangerous, but they do not bore.

The best moments of CHILDREN and WHISPER, therefore, transcend their mere pop aspirations; the worst are still decent, if seemingly filler. All hew brilliantly to a central sound, establishing an unmistakable band identity. Couples well with the previous two albums (DREAM OF CHILDREN and SHADOWDANCE)

Shadowfax formed in the mid-70s around founding members Chuck Greenberg (on sax and flutes), G.E. Stinson (on guitars) and Phil Magginni(on bass) and eventually were signed to the new-age label Windham Hill, where the band would release a number of memorable albums, none more so that this one, their 1986 release.

"Too Far to Whisper" (10 tracks; 42 min.) brings the perfect mix of the band jazzy-new age instrumental music. From the opening sounds of the title track, the music feels laser-sharp, and with memorable hooks left and right. The slow "What Goes Around" is the only track on here that features vocals, and it feels a bit out of place, frankly. "China Blue" brings, not surprisingly, oriental sounds. "Orangutan Gang (Strikes Back)" is an up-tempo song that brings out the best in the band's interplay in its rich instruments, and one of my favorite tracks on here. "Streetnoice" is another urgent track that wants to make you wanna get up and dance, enjoying Chuck's wood flutes and lyricon, just great. Truth be told, there is barely a weak track on here, and it's easy to see why this became Shadowfax's best selling album: it's just enough mainstream yet it keeps its edge.

Back in the mid and late 80s, I was a HUGE fan of the Windham Hill label, and bought quite a few of its then-vinyl album releases. I didn't repurchase them all on CD, but this album was one of them, and I'm glad I did, looking back after all these years. Back then, there would be the sporadic Windham Hill label tour, packaging a number of their artists, and on one of them, I caught Shadowfax in concert, and what a show they put on, just fantastic. Meanwhile, "Too Far to Whisper" remains as fresh today as when it was releases 23 years ago (has it really been that long?). HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

At the time this album came out, VH-1 had a late-night show called "New Visions", which featured a lot of the more popular New Age material. Since a lot of material in that genre was either too acoustic for even cableplay, and a lot was ambient and too long for an hourlong show, the same material got played over and over, broken up by a bit of progressive jazz here and there. New Age purists didn't like the jazz because you're supposed to hate jazz. One of the tunes from this album saw a lot of play on the show--the vocal track "What Goes Around". Another track featured here is "Maceo", an afro-Caribbean-sounding number that comes across more of a parody than a true derivative. Don't let this track put you off if you decide to explore beyond here in their body of work. It depends on which albums you buy as to what Shadowfax you get. The Windham Hill period is more New Age influenced, while their later material tends to be a less funky than usual jazz fusion. The twin lead instruments (fortunately the chart-aimed contract-obligatory vocal stuff is fairly rare) are an amplified but not electronic violin and a sax player who spends more time on the Lyricon wind synth doing woodwind-sounding voicings. The jazz purists will tell you that Shadowfax's material isn't improvisational enough to be jazz. The New Age purists will lament that a rhythm section adds an element of stress that's incompatible with the whole New Age ethos. So maybe it's neither. Maybe it's best to ignore both groups and pay attention to how these guys wrote and played. And maybe you'll come away regretful that this band is no longer in business.

I collected shadowfax in LPs. This is my favorite so I got it in CD.