Record Details
| Artist: | Acoustic Alchemy |
|---|---|
| Title: | Natural Elements |
| Format: | CD |
| Label: | MCA Records |
| Cat No: | MCAD-42125 |
| Released: | 1988 |
| Country: |  |
| Genres: | ExperimentalNew Age |
| Status | Have |
| Added To List | 1st December 2016 |
Additional Information
| Comments | MCA Master Series Recorded at Hansa-Haus Studios, Bonn, West Germany. Acoustic piano recorded at Studio 'N', Koln, by Gunter Kasper. Mixed at Fairland Studios, Bochum, West Germany. Mastered using the JVC Digital Audio Mastering System. Guitars used on this album by: Lowden, Takamine, Manning, & Vilaplana. Liner notes: One of the most beautiful and peaceful places in England is an area near the South coast called the New Forest. It was there in a small cottage that Acoustic Alchemy conceived the music for "Natural Elements". Armed with two acoustic guitars and a rather battered cassette player their first musical adventure took them back in time to the court of Queen Elizabeth I and her seafaring ambassador Sir Francis Drake who, incidentally, used to carry a band on his ships to entertain the crew at meal times. DRAKE'S DRUM is an attempt to marry elements of the period with modern instrumentation and a flavor of the sea. If you have ever travelled through the night on a train you will have felt the rhythmic romance that such a journey invokes. OVERNIGHT SLEEPER is just such a train of thought. The title track NATURAL ELEMENTS is really a musical painting of the summer cottage at Burley in the New Forest but like Ashley Jackson’s cover painting it contains more than a hint of menace. CASINO, co-written by ex Acoustic Alchemy member Simon James, has its soul in the excellent keyboard wizardry of West Germans Mike Herting and Rainer Bruninghaus but its heart remains firmly in Spain. Rainer Bruninghaus also features, this time on a mighty Steinway grand, on IF ONLY Acoustic Alchemy’s tribute to the rhymes and rhythms of South America. I have always loved the purity and richness of the acoustic guitar and two together spell double magic-BALLAD FOR KAY is acoustic romance between two people or two guitars. EVIL THE WEASEL is for people who love to dance – it’s hot and hip and makes you wont to boogie. It’s also a refreshing change to hear super-tight synths replaced in the foreground by acoustic guitars. It’s written by the band's illustrious producer John Parsons. The final piece is a tip o' the hat to the late Thelonious Monk entitled LATE NIGHT DUKE STREET which evokes time spent in smoky jazz clubs when all God fearing people should be safely tucked up in bed. "Natural Elements" is a modern day international journey in sound that blends hi-tech mechanical forces with the majesty of traditional instruments-the old and the new successfully working together in harmony. STEWART COXHEAD English-born Greg Carmichael and Nick Webb comprise the core of Acoustic Alchemy. It is their European-influenced style on acoustic and classical guitars that pervade their encore offering for The MCA Master Series. The compositions on "Natural Elements", over half by Webb and Carmichael, take the listener on an instrumental journey through time, tradition and technology, bridging the old and the new in a sound born of magic and majesty. |
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