Note: this 20th Anniversary edition contains 2 bonus tracks.
The emerging genre of New Age music might have gone unnoticed by me if a friend of the family hadn't given this album to my father as a Christmas gift around the time of release. I had never heard anything like it and it was certainly different than anything else I was listening to at the time. The music is haunting and mesmerizing. Listening to it while looking at the album cover art (I wish I still had the 12" album cover) always transports me.
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #54
- Billboard Pop CD: #15
- Billboard Jazz: #2
- CashBox: #81
- CashBox Jazz: #1
- CashBox CD: #17
Tracks: Thanksgiving, Joy, Some Children See Him, The Holly & the Ivy, and Peace are all good solos. I could do without his take on Pachelbel's Canon, but that's probably because it is an overplayed work. The two bonus tracks fit nicely on the disc; my guess is they were omitted originally because an LP can only hold so much music without distorting the sound quality.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: This album makes me fondly remember Christmases in Bay City during my high school years. This release, along with a church choir Christmas cantata introduced me to the carols of Alfred Burt, which are worth seeking out.
No comments:
Post a Comment