Customer Reviews

Whales Alive

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4 star:		(1)
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Paul Winter is that rarity among musicians, one who can successfully reinvent himself repeatedly, not so much as a concession to changing tastes among listeners as it is his fascination with how - and by whom (and for that matter, by what) - music is made. With a 40-year body of work thus far, the only "constant" over these four decades has been the sound of his saxophone (and even there, his "hard bop" alto of his early post-college years is quite different from his soprano sax work over most of his career).

A little over two decades ago, Winter founded his own record label (Living Music) so that he could pursue his musical interests without concern for whether the label itself would influence his artistic direction. Excepting a number of guest appearances on the albums of musical friends, all of his releases since 1980 have been on the Living Music label, and all of them reflect and showcase his artistic interests.

Preeminent among these releases (now numbering nearly 40 titles) is a small, but central, series of "environmental" albums that evoke his thoughts on the relationships between music and the earth and nature. Among these, if "Callings" (1980) was his groundbreaking first album, "Canyon" (1985) his most evocative, "Earth: Voices of a Planet" (1990) his widest-ranging (in geographic terms), "Prayer for the Wild Things" (1994) his crowning artistic achievement, and "Canyon Lullaby" (1997) his most personal, I think it accurate to say that this album, "Whales Alive" (1987), is his most imaginative.

The album is the collaborative effort of four people (three in addition to Winter), each uniquely qualified for the contributions he makes. Dr. Roger Payne, famous for his whale tapings ("Songs of the Humpback Whale"), first interested Winter in "the musics of cetaceans." Payne also inspired Leonard Nimoy, who provides the dramatic readings here (perfectly so, I hasten to add), in his screenplay and direction for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (which in turn provided inspiration to Winter for the wonderfully moving and affirmative final track on the album). And Paul Halley, long-time Winter collaborator, provides the perfect instrumental underpinnings seated at his organ console bench at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

The album juxtaposes readings by Nimoy of the prose and poetry of Herman Melville, D. H. Lawrence, Gary Snyder, Payne and others with whale songs and the instrumental work of Winter and Halley and their session musicians. The integration of these three seemingly distinct entities is a marvel that few can pull off at all, and none as well as Winter. The majestic opening track ("Whales Weep Not") immediately lets us know that this is no ordinary "spoken word" album. And it gets better, with the utterly imaginative "Concerto for Whale and Organ," the bluesy "Humphrey's Blues" and the exciting "Queequeg and I" (with Ted Moore providing thrilling percussion support to Winter's sax).

There are instances when words cannot suffice, but we try anyway. In saying that "The Voyage Home" is a revelation in its simple, noble majesty and uplifting spirituality, I know that I fail utterly in attempting to capture its essence. The prologue to this final track, narrated by Nimoy to words written by Payne, linger as an aural memory much as the music itself does; the final six words of Dr. Payne's, prior to the start of the music, truly say it all. Winter has a way of providing "album closers" that are unforgettable, and "The Voyage Home" is among his very finest of all.

I like to think of this series of "environmental music" albums as "canonical Winter": those of his works which are absolutely timeless in terms of their appeal. And, among these, "Whales Alive" is at the same time both the most imaginative and the most stirring of all.

Bob Zeidler

A fabulous, fascinating, mystical, and highly unusual journey inward accompanied by the haunting songs of humpback whale. Numerous cuts feature whale poetry, narrated by the incomparable Leonard Nimoy, backed by whale song and music you will never forget. Other cuts feature duets between soprano saxophone and whales or pipe organ, saxophone, and whale. An inspired vision creating a truly unique, rare CD. I loved it.

Very relaxing music accompanied by recorded whale songs. Leonard Nimoy also reads poetry. Yes that's Nimoy as in Mr. Spock. His readings take nothing away from the beauty of this compilation. I searched over a year for this CD after hearing it featured on a local new age program....If you like New Age, you'll love this.

Paul Winter's "Prayer for the Wild Things" was, nearly five years ago, the first of his albums I heard. It was totally by accident that it was brought to my attention. I was instantly hooked, and somewhat dismayed that I had not discovered his music on my own, years earlier.

Shortly thereafter, under personally unforgettable circumstances, "Whales Alive" was added to my just-beginning collection of his complete works, thereby for a brief time doubling the size of the collection. I knew then, at first listening, that this was to be a long-term affair. As each succeeding album was added to my library, I sound, the amazing range and freedom from arbitrary genre barriers, the uncanny improvisational talent, but above all the total commitment to a unique personal vision that is not found anywhere else.

The allure of the music in this album draws me back again and again; it has an affirming ability to move and renew. While Paul Winter's musical spell-weaving is undoubtedly conscious and purposeful, foreknowledge of this fact does not in the slightest detract from its inevitable, and repeated, effect. If you are a skeptic regarding the integration of what we conventionally presume to be "music" with the spoken word and the other musics of our sphere, as I once was, "Whales Alive" may well be the curative for ridding yourself of this skepticism for all time.

There are instances when words cannot suffice, but we try anyway. In saying that "The Voyage Home" is a revelation in its simple, noble majesty and uplifting spirituality, I know that I fail utterly in attempting to capture its essence. The prologue to this final track, narrated by Leonard Nimoy to words written by Roger Payne, linger as an aural memory much as the music itself does; the final six words of Dr. Payne's, prior to the start of the performance art at this level is very rare, worry not about the durability of this wondrous album. It's got a home on this web page and elsewhere, and our meager attempts to capture its essence will surely help matters along.

One of the finest works by the musical conscience of our planet!

Bob Zeidler

This must be one of the most unusual recordings ever. Paul Winter's evocative sax dances with the whalesong, weaving the kind of musical patterns you can drift away and dream to. The backing is sympathetic and low key, and the atmosphere is enhanced by Leonard Nimoy's readings. (Forget Spock ... this man has a voice made for poetry!) Buy this CD, listen to it ....and let your imagination ride the wild sea.

I love this album. When I broke my wrist in college, my ur-girlfriend at the time gave this to me for my birthday, and while the message still eludes me, I have enjoyed its delicate balance of ethereal extra-human beauty and implied Star-Trek-IV camp since that day, over a decade ago. Although the entire record is a delight, my favorite track is the too-short "George and Gracie", ungraced by Nimoy's sensual baritone. Say goodnight, whales! "Arrrooooorooorooo!"

This is one of the greatest CD's of relaxing, natural music ever created. All of the tracks are wonderful.