Search - Ralph Towner :: Solstice Sound & Shadows

What ECM was all about

David Starns | South Louisiana, a stone's throw from the swamp | 10/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD contains all of the elements that made ECM the most interesting label of the 70's. Challenging, advanced music that offered all the things that new age music promises but never delivers: substance married to mood. Don't get me wrong; this is definitely jazz music, but it's a long way from dixieland! Edgar Allen Poe wrote that the "most legitimate of all poetical tones" is "melancholy." I think he would've liked this album. If you've heard--and like--Towner's "Solstice," you'll enjoy this one too; it's cut from the same cloth. Every song features Towner's enormous-sounding twelve string, which functions more like a chamber group than a guitar, filling the tracks with intrigue and atmosphere. On top of this, Eberhard Weber contributes some of his best work, wringing a moaning eloquence from his electric upright. Charlie Mariano is replaced by Jan Garbarek on soprano sax, a substitution that doesn't work quite as well for me (I've always found Garbarek's tone a bit piercing), though he still sounds great.This is one of the 4 or 5 albums I play on a rainy Sunday (along with Weber's "Yellow Fields" or "Following Morning," the first Return to Forever album, Towner's "Solstice," and Keith Jarrett's "Arbour Zena.")"

The classic ecm sound...

Wilcar | Massachusetts | 03/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Try the album called Solstice first. This one is by the band called Solstice.



This one is good , but...my first impression is that Jan Garbarek's horn is mixed a little to much to the front.I prefer his sound when it echoes off the fjords.



I was hoping it was the two albums on one cd but it is not.This is a set of different music by the group that recorded the original album "Solstice" on ecm records."

Still inspirational

Wilcar | 07/31/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This record quite deservedly won the German equivalent of a Grammy award. It comes at a time when Ralph was composing some of his very best works, and it seems that extraordinary consideration was given to choosing ensemble members for their individual sounds. The result is an extraordinary ensemble sound which is beautifully recorded and deserves to be listened to on the finest of stero systems. All aspects of this word: the compositions, the playing, and the recording itself, are inspirational."