World's Edge

Steve Roach | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Fortuna Records
• ASIN: B0000007VE
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,863 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Second of Three Ambient Masterpieces, May 29, 2002

By 

G-Dexter (Lakewood, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: World's Edge (Audio CD)

Among Steve Roach's vast and brilliant catalog of ambient, or "space music" recordings, very few are less than superlative and a select few transcend the rest to establish the new high water mark by which all other ambient recordings are measured. 'World's Edge' is just such an album.

His first true masterpiece was the double album 'Dreamtime Return'. With 'World's Edge', Steve Roach moved into a new realm that integrated ambient textures with tribal rhythm's to completely transport the listener to, (hopefully without sounding too metaphysical) a new plain of existence. The first disc is especially effective in creating this feeling of escape, while the second disc is one long piece that is more introspective as it delves into the inner soul of the listener.

Once again, I must disagree with Mr. Moodindigo2 who seems to have completely missed the point of these albums. This music isn't about sensory deprivation: rather they are a complex and moving exercise in TOTAL IMMERSION. If you take the time to listen critically, you cannot help but be totally carried away by the intricate structures and subtle counterpoints of the music. I would suggest that Moodindigo2 give it another listen and try to stay awake this time.

This album is the second masterpiece in the triumvirate, but I must also agree with Moodindigo's "friend" who ranks Steve Roach's Early Man (yet another double CD) as the zenith of his career to date, and the third true masterpiece in his catalog. Buy them all and experience 6 discs of the best ambient music available anywhere.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Roach's first double-volume release since Dreamtime, February 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: World's Edge (Audio CD)

Roach's most ambitious release since Dreamtime Return, World's Edge offers a synopsis of his various styles on disc one and offers an hour-long meditative mind journey called "To The Threshold of Silence" on disc two. The pieces on disc one are reminiscent of everything from Western Spaces (like "Undershadow") to Dreamtime Return (like "Steel and Bone") and extends the tribal-ambient direction he started on Dreamtime with "Beat of Desire" and "Thunderground", the latter of which is the best piece on the disc one. Disc Two, "To The Threshold of Silence", was his most ambitous space music composition at that time, beginning with a Tibetan- inspired gong ceremonial section, continuing with three other linked sections that move through various emotional spaces tied together by a common textural theme. A great introduction to Roach's music, particularly if you're interested in his '90s offerrings.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Is this what it's like to be unconscious?, May 13, 2002

By 

C. B. Newman "moodindigo2" (Brisbane, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: World's Edge (Audio CD)

Amazing disc. Minimalism that is expressionistic. Ever shut your eyes and stare at the stars and red clouds that dance beneath your eye lids? World's Edge would be the soundtrack to that display. New Age that is etheral to the 10th degree. It is a soundscape that looks to the heavens (starry night) for its inspiration, but is rooted in something that is cthonic and primordial. Another Steven Roach fan who is a friend of mine prefers the "Early Man" album to this album. Uh uh. No way. What "Early Man" does for a jurassic feel, "World's Edge" would be the audio experience that comes from sensory deprivation. It can reach inside you and squeeze your heart a bit too tightly if you let it. That sounds extreme, but there is something to this disc that can send the listener on an astral journey, if you let it.....