Search - Bill Nelson :: The Summer of God's Piano

No vocals, no guitars.

Anthony D Ravenscroft | Santa Fe, NM United States | 08/30/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, okay, there might be a few guitars wandering around, but this is by no stretch a "rock album."



The CD contains 23 tracks, more of Nelson's ruminative work, over in the corner between ambient & orchestral. Six climb over 3:00. A few have a beat (as opposed, of course, to a rhythm).



Though even Nelson's "failed" experiments are fascinating, this further compilation of his diary entries has two tunes that presently bear repeating when I play the disk, & they are "Realm of Dusk" (track 22) & "The Charm of Transit" (17).



These CDs continue to inspire my grasp of synth tonalities, which is remarkable given the hardware Nelson had in 1983. He probably could have single-handedly humiliated Depeche Mode (whose work I enjoy) if he hadn't been so burned by his early pop-icon experiences.



Stylistically, I'd place this disk somewhere between "Optimism" & "Chance Encounters.""