Search - Andy Summers :: Earth & Sky

Mostly mellow, but uninspired, jazz from a guitar master

Nicole N. Pellegrini | Philadelphia, PA | 01/13/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is no denying Andy Summer's virtuosity with the guitar, particularly when it comes to creating the atmospheric soundscapes and effects which became a trademark sound of his work with The Police in the 70s and 80s. His solo work since then has varied both in style and in quality, and "Earth + Sky" is a solid, but not outstanding, addition to his library of recordings.



The album starts out strong and energetic with "Above the World", which features some great drumwork by Vinnie Colaiuta. "Now I'm Free" has a delicate, tropical feel to it, followed by the rather sexy, slow groove of "Diva Station". The mellow vibe continues with "Return", but then finally kicks back up a notch with the title track, perhaps the strongest on the album. "Parallels" returns to the soft feel of earlier tracks and "Circus" finally gets a little funky. "Roseville" has some nice hooks to it, as does "Red Stiletto". The album ends on a very gentle note with the romantic "I Choose You."



The problem is few, if any, of these tracks really stick in the memory. It is all fairly easy to listen to, but perhaps a bit too easy. Although I have listened to this album numerous times, I have a hard time keeping any of the numbers apart in my head, and it only occasionally shows what Andy is really capable of as a player (indeed, when I saw him perform a number of these tracks live not long ago, they shone out with much more energy and vitality than comes across on the record.)



Overall I can only give the album a solid average rating. I'd instead recommend trying to catch Andy live if you want to really see and hear what he is capable of, as this album will primarily be of most interest only to his diehard fans."

Fabulous CD

Stephanie Sante | Boulder, CO, USA | 02/26/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a gorgeous CD from start to finish. The tracks have a nice blend of Jazz textures combined with Rock intensity at times. The emphasis is on melody and overall song structure rather than flash. Very listenable and very polished. One of my favorite CDs."

Masterpiece

Henry Korm | Brazil | 12/08/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"He has an ambient masterpiece: Mysterious Barricades.
An ambient and grooves: The Golden Wire.
A music meets painting: Synaesthesia.
Now he's free and did it again: Earth & sky is a music masterpiece.
That's it. Go listen."