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Somewhat uneven but this is still a wonderful voyage to go o

Distant Voyageur | Io | 04/09/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got this CD back around Christmas of 1998 and I have to say that it was a marvelous little present as it is a marvelous, if somewhat bumpy collection of 16 innovative songs that demonstrate the early years of the New Age genre and to the mid 1990s. Although it's considered "Celestial" in nature, I found a few of the songs to be somewhat more tribal, medievel in nature that make it more like a nature's voyage than a space voyage like the title suggests. Still, I think this is a strong collection. The birth of the New Age genre is demonstrated in Mike Oldfield's legendary classic "Tubular Bells" with it's innovative electronic sound which is impressive especially by 1973 standards although the 'hiss' sound in the background has caused the song to show it's age but "Tubular Bells" is a pivotal moment as it showed New Age music in it's infancy. 1978's "1/1" by Brian Eno and 1975's "Crystal Cathedral" also are early treats from the then-new genre. For all of it's classic status by many New Age listeners even myself, "Tubular Bells" pales in comparison to these two tracks as they don't suffer from poor sound quality. By far the most amazing song on here is Jon Serrie's 1989 ever-eternal classic "Flightpath". The song starts with a strong intro and becomes a very space-oriented song with a rumbling spaceship voyage atmosphere and a confident optimistic punch to it.



This CD does sometimes drive on slippery roads. "Crystal White Firelight" by Iasos sounds almost like what one would imagine if Tinkerbell suddenly got ultra-high on crack cocaine. It's not a bad song but to me, this really bizarre track always felt like the "Fairy's on Crack!" theme to me. the "Harry's Game" song by Clannad is very good but I have no idea what this song is doing on this collection as it feels completely out of place against the other tracks on this CD.



Nonetheless, for the ocassional speed bumps, "New Visions: Celestial Voyagers" is a definate must-have for those who are eager to try out the New Age genre. Although it's difficult to find these days, it's still worth the purchase. If you like this one, there are even better compilations such as the Elevation series from Earthtone, as well as "Hotel Tara" and "Cafe De Luna"."