Search - Steven Halpern :: Cruise Control

Jim S. from FRANKLIN, NC
Reviewed on 9/8/2009...

A little "lively" in spots, as compared to Halpern's usual work. But very nice. (I won't be reposting it!!)

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Awesome and Fun

M. Seroski | Boise, ID United States | 03/01/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Steven Halpren and The SOund Machine have put together and awesome album. It's fun to listen to and has a great beat. Slightly jazzy but not irritating to the ears as some are.



I love his stuff but this is fast becoming my favorite!"

A "NEW SOUND" FOR STEVEN HALPERN

Steven H. Propp | Sacramento, CA USA | 10/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What? Steven Halpern, with an ELECTRIC GUITAR accompanying him? With songs that even have a BEAT to them?



Yes, Steven Halpern DID move into some "new country" with this 2001 album. (He once released an album called 1984: Newsound that was almost like "New Age ROCK Music," but it must not have gone over with his fans; it was never released on CD, and copies are nowhere to be found.) And for myself, I find the results most gratifying. It remains true to the "artistic vision" of Steve Halpern, yet takes you somewhere quite different than his more ambient masterwork Spectrum Suite.



The "Sound Medicine Band" isn't really a "band"; Halpern notes, "Although we never all played together at the same time, each musician displayed an uncanny ability to tune into the vision that was guiding me." But they are some very talented musicians, whose abilities make this album a perennial favorite of mine. Most noteworthy is the guitar work of Jim Surles; Halpern notes, "I met Jim Surles in his capacity as master guitar-maker who repaired my own guitar. When he played my guitar to demonstrate his work, he knocked my socks off. Although he was preparing to leave in a few days for a one-month pilgrimage to India, I invited him to the studio before he left ... it was as if Jim has stuck his fingers in an electrical outlet---he was PLUGGED IN!" The other musicians are equally masterful (particularly Mark Van Wageningen's electric bass).



No, this isn't "Rock music," or Hip-Hop; but the music DOES have a PULSE; you can actually play it while you're driving (note that the album is even entitled "Cruise Control"), unlike much of Halpern's other music (that might relax you so much that you'd get into a wreck while driving!).



This album will certainly not replace Chakra Suite on your playlist; but you will very likely find yourself playing it in a variety of circumstances for which you wouldn't want to play Halpern's more "New Age" music. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!







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