Quintessence - Spontaneous Music Ensemble (The)

Advantages: Just great quality music!
Disadvantages: Hardly any!

...I,m a recent listener of Shpongles music, having first heard them on Last FM radio. These really are a superb band with there fusions of psychedelic / trance / dub / world / electro crossovers. Definitely right up my street and anyone elses for that matter who are into stuff like Ozric Tentacles , Banco De Gaia , to name but a few. When i first heard the excellent flute playing , on this CD and others i was reminded of some early ' Quintessence ' a band of the late 60's to 70's.... lo and behold upon gaining further info on the line up who else was it but Raja Ram himself from the very same band. Anyway this is a splendid CD as are all of them! Very highly recommended! MEMBERS: Simon Posford (aka Hallucinogen) Raja Ram (one half of The Infinity Project and founder of the indo-prog/raga rock group of the 60's/70's Quintessence). 1... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Light, clear, could be played over and again
Disadvantages: Perhaps lacks a bit of magic or sparkle

...If I was to think of performers I would choose to play my favourite pieces of music, then I would not readily think of the Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra. But a friend of mine who played in the orchestra tipped me off that this was a good one. So I got hold of the CD, opened a bottle of red and sat back with an open mind. Surprise surprise, it's good. Enthusiastic playing for sure, with plenty of joie de vivre. The typical American attention to detail slightly grates with my British sense of spontaneity, but the flawless phrasing, breathing (and no doubt bowing too) and dynamics work in the overall performances because of the lack of indulgence in the tempi. Bach can all too easily sound like a mathematical exercise written out in notes, but there is a lightness and deftness of touch here in the conducting that lifts this out... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Only the best live music you'll ever hear performed by human beings
Disadvantages: none

...Live Dead is as compelling now as it must have been when it was spontaneously created in 1969, and the epic Dark Star is its heart - an utterly compelling, ornate musical conversation by a band at the top of its form.. and at that time taken seriously by its peers. This is music that cannot be easily categorised or imitated but for a brief shining moment the band redefined rock music, because it played as an ensemble, not as a series of soloists. It is still a rare quality for a rock band. And Live Dead is without doubt the bands finest album. My favourite track of all- and the most accessable to newcomers - is the dark melancholy blues "Death don't have no mercy". If you want to know what all the fuss about Garcia is about, listen to this performance. Check out, too, the gorgeous Pigpen performance on a churning "Lovelight... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful