Search - Philip Riley, Jayne Elleson :: Blessing Tree

Stirring, ethereal, it melts in your mind,beautiful!

10/01/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you love Enya's and Loreena McKennitt's music, you'll love this CD! I've been a fan of both Enya and Loreena McKennitt for years and this beautiful music was being played in a bookstore (alright--so I didn't buy it here--it's still a great CD!)and I thought it was a new Enya CD at first, then the Irish pipes and whistles began to show up in the songs. This music just slides into your consciousness and possesses you. It's so beautiful you just listen in fascination--and then you have to have it! It has the breathy (overlay of vocals ) quality of Enya and the Celtic themes overlying soft acoustic guitar and piano with occasional whistle, pipes, and drums. I think that Shepherd Moon's Ebudae is what will come to mind the most--especially on track 2 Breton Drum. Basically this is one of those CD's you buy, take home, pray will be all you look for in a CD and are thrilled to find it is that and more. Don't miss this CD!"

A Music Critic's Review

12/08/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'll be hooked on The Blessing Tree for a long time. Being a songwriter, and someone familiar with the recording techniques that Philip Riley employed, I'd have to say that this is the breakthrough album for him. Almost every song on the album is a sure winner. My only bone to pick with Philip Riley was that he didn't use an acoustic piano in the recording - If he did, he mixed it to sound like a sampled piano (if that's possible). Such a simple thing would've enhanced the songs that have piano parts in it (most people can't tell). But over-all, the album is great - the album as a whole is better than Enya's last two albums, IMO. Why, you may ask? Because Enya has been using the same sounds for the last 10 years in all of her albums, except for in a few of her songs. Don't get me wrong - Enya is the master, but Jayne Ellison has a very sensual voice that Enya just doesn't have. Jayne's voice sends shivers down my spine in a major way. Briton Drums is a very powerful song, along with Sanctus (the majestic violin interlude), and reflective Slow Runs My Heart. However, the song that is the most addicting, and beautiful is Pictish Girl - a very simple song, but very powerful and enchanting. This album deserves every bit of a 5-star rating."

More, More, We Want More

DFE | Lake Forest, CA USA | 11/20/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The most wonderful little-known cd I've listened to. The music borrows from celtic, folk, classical and pop to come up with the kind of songs that you fall in love the first time you hear them and yet they are not quite like anything else out there. The pipes and strings give it that celtic feel while Jayne Ellison who sounds more then a bit like Madonna (on a very good day) gives them a pop feel. There is not a looser on the album, but I particularly love Brenton Drums which alternates betweeen sounding like a pop tune and a theme for a Movie about the American Revolution which tells the tale of a girl who cuts her hair and disguises herself as a boy to search for her missing lover and a trio near the end Benediction, Sanctus, and Coventry Lullaby which all have the sound of Church music in the tradition of Bach and Handle but with a decidely pop edge. Now stop reading these review and order your album so they will put out another one real soon."