Customer Reviews

Unstoppable Forces

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

 

 

It's been far too long since Himmelman's last offering "Love Thinketh No Evil" not counting his children's CD "My Fabulous Plum"(2000) which saw little distribution, "Unstoppable Forces" is a magnificant return to form. I'm assuming that most folks have already been aquainted with his recording history, encompassing 89's magical "Synesthesia", 1991's masterful "From Strength to Strength" with, perhaps, some of the best songwritting the 90's offered up in the singer/songwriter category,(Impermanent Things,Love of Midnight and Phone Call from Chicago are 3 of 15 examples from STS).

Beside being Bob Dylan's son-in-law, Himmelman is a masterful storyteller, bringing to mind Elvis Costello, moments of Graham
Parker at his best and bits and pieces of Joe Jackson.

Himmelman said "goodbye" to major label representation with the much misunderstood "Skin" in 1994 that went right over the heads of most MOR radio playlists who but all shut the door on creative
possibilities in music during the 90's, marching toward corporate
cookie cutter musical images now fed to the general public at large. Keeping his faithful following intact, Himmelman began his journey in keeping intact the long line of musical tradtion that he embeded in the main frame of his recorded work.

"Unstoppable Forces" is one tight, melodic odyssey, with moments
conjugating the spirit of FSTS and "Flown This Acid World".
Immediate standouts are the opening acoustic track "The Deepest Part" with Peter assuring the listener that the strength and value that remains are the things that never change, guiding one along their journey, whatever it may be or what road traveled.
"So Many Little Lies" kicks things up a few notches with its rock root firmly established in that long line of tradtion that makes Dylan, Costello, Parker and many others masters of their craft.
Thus far the one track that has me hitting the repeat button after each play through is "Love That Lasts" with it's refraining course of "You know it's love that lasts, It's love that lasts, when the idols all come down its love that lasts" with Himmelman singing with such convincing fervor it leaves one convienced he's been witness to an end times scenario.

"Red Like Jupiter" is full of vision and tales of the heart, perhaps written in memory of Peter's sister who passed away this past year, while "Discipline of Rain" is, simply put, a beautiful rewarding acoustic journey in search of balance and appreciation of beauty,while "Death of Dreams" has "classic" written all over it's melody. Yes indeed, 12 wonderful, embued musical tracks with 2 bonus tracks at the end.

"Unstoppable Forces" also contains a very rewarding bonus disc from Himmelmans own personal vaults, an onging series that he's offered on his web sight for the past few years with every track a strong contender that should have been included on major releases.

For those who might not know of Peter Himmelman's musical
presence or who have heard but not tasted, I can think of no better starting point to get aquainted. For those already
versed in all things Himmelman,
it's a welcome return to form and beauty. Welcome back Peter, we've missed you..............................beautiful!

It's great to hear Peter Himmelman again on CD after traipsing to Colorado or some other place to hear his music live. Keeping his musical integrity intact, Himmelman continues to be a great "lyrical poet". Although I'm certain creating TV music for "Judging Amy" and other shows may be more lucrative, for we Himmel-folks, his recordings are more fulfilling. This CD is a wonderful re-entry into the recording stratosphere, and I hope the first of many more.

Recently I've been listening to Peter Himmelman's entire recorded output quite closely. I wanted to create my own "Best Of" collection and needed to get more familiar with his last two albums, "Unstoppable Forces" from 2004, and "Imperfect World" from 2005. Ultimately, after listening to each about 5-6 times, I concluded that Unstoppable Forces is one of Himmelman's weakest efforts, while Imperfect World is a strong candidate for his best ever.

I've always been partial to Himmelman's more rockin' songs, while finding his acoustic singer/songwriterly efforts somewhat hit & miss. His quieter material often seems overly serious and even humorless, very odd for a guy who, as anyone that has ever seem him in concert will attest, is extremely funny. Unstoppable Forces is tilted towards Himmelman the acoustic troubadour, so for that reason alone I don't like it as much as his harder rocking albums. But in addition, even the rock songs on this album are curiously uncompelling. So all in all the album is a bit of a disappointment.

Fortunately, the package is redeemed by the inclusion of a bonus disc - "Himmelvaults Volume 3". A collection of previously unreleased recordings from various points spanning his career, Vaults 3 comes across as a complete, high quality album in it's own right. Songs like "Long Time Coming Back", "The Bond", and "Don't Believe A Word" are so strong it's hard to fathom how they didn't end up included with the albums they were originally recorded for. It's a far stronger collection than 1998's Himmelvaults Vol 1. (I haven't yet heard Himmelvaults Vol 2.)

Overall 4 stars. Unstoppable Forces gets 2.5 stars. Vaults Vol 3 gets 4 stars.

I have heard a rumour that Peter's old band from the early 80's (SUSSMAN LAWRENCE) is getting a 2CD collection on Deep Shag Records sometime this year. Let us hope! Unstoppable Forces is simply a brilliant piece of work and long overdue. Please don't make us wait so long next time.