Customer Reviews

first fall night

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

 

 

...soft and sentimental but with hints of strength that can take you back to places where ones own thoughts and feelings mingle for a time. Music where memory and time are forever captured. Almost like being in a dream. If only life was like this...

First, I must admit that I have know Matt (the artist) since we were kids and have heard versions of many of these songs for the past ten years. That said, I always felt kinda lukewarm about this area of Matt's work, to be honest, I'm just not much of a fan of solo piano music.

What he has done here, is tweak these songs, bringing them to a whole new level. He has added some classical and celtic elements that really give the tunes more depth. Though Matt is very open about his influences, I hear some strains of early Genesis (when Phil was just a drummer) and Vince Guarldi in addition to the influence cited on his website.

This is a wonderful song cycle that can, yes, be a relaxing listen- but, there is a lot going on with these seemingly simple songs that rewards closer listening. Aside from the strong songs and performance, the session has been wonderfully recorded and mastered with an excellent package.

I first heard music by Matthew Labarge at a concert and bought the CD that night. I listen to it a lot (especially when I work or relax at home) and love the melodies. If you enjoy piano music, you will love this one!

Hi everyone,
From someone who doesn't like piano music very much I really like the CD. I just wanted to write a review cause everyone should have at least one review.

I can remember discovering the first few "Fresh Aire" CDs from Mannheim Steamroller in the eighties and the wonderful piano pieces they contain. Dynamic, transporting, amplifying and just plain beautiful. That's identical to how I felt the first time I auditioned this work. So far the opportunity to hear Mr. Labarge's creations has spread purely by word of mouth. I urge anyone to at least listen to the sample mp3s. It would be great if there were enough response to encourage more works.