Melodic Revolution Records 2018 (Anthology) USA
CD1 CD 2 -69.25
AOR Bathed with Progressive Moves
www.lisalaruemusic. com/
www.facebook.com/ lisalarue2kx ReverbNation
My Rating 9/100
Please excuse my ignorance if I say that ‘Lisa Larue’ is completely new to me, all though, judging by the celebrated list of guest musicians she is clearly an artist of great aplomb. Certainly coming across this, her new, album ‘Origins’ I wasn’t at all sure what to expect. The double CD album is in fact, as I discovered, an anthology or, as been quoted in the promotional literature, a celebration of her twenty-five years as a keyboardist and composer with tracks taken from a selection of her eleven studio albums. This as a format actually works rather well as it gives the listener a complete all-around appreciation of her talents and skills as a superb keyboardist, musician and composer. The sequence of tracks too, as presented over the two CDs, gives an appropriate measure of her expansive musical diversity and development during the twenty-five years of her, so far, lengthy recording history.
From a music perspective, there are many elemental facets amalgamated over the whole range of selected tracks. It would be difficult to tell from the two CDs whether any one specific stylization was adopted as a central theme for anyone of the individual albums that contribute to this set. Clearly, Lisa is influenced by many kinds of music genera’s ranging from Jazz, progressive rock, classical and new world music sequences of all of which can be detected in the mix. Whilst there are a whole host of beautiful melodic moments with excellent well-structured keyboard and piano passages. There are too some other isolated periods when the music didn’t quite gel for me and I was left wondering whether the resultant music here was truly representative of the rest of the studio albums Lisa has recorded. I say this particularly in respect to any other good tracks which have been missed out of from the final selection. It raises another question too inasmuch that at least another 40 minutes of music could have been spread over the two albums of this anthology.
The list of accompanying musicians is fairly wide and too many to list here (but certainly painstakingly listed in the accompanying CD booklets.) an exception is guitarist Steve Adams who features greatly throughout with some simply stunning guitar breaks and counter harmonies. There is no doubt too that the rest of the musicians are indeed excellent with interesting and exciting contributions.
Summary: A fantastic introduction to the extensive recorded output from Lisa LaRue and certainly an album to grace any record collection.
Tracks CD 1
- Kituwa
- Hurtful Words.
- In Camera.
- Beautiful Illusion.
- 256 Leagues Above New Orleans.
- Sea of Unity.
- Lament of The Cherokee /Ruins of Home.
- Golden Birds Wrapped Within.
- Recurring Dream
Tracks CD 2.
- Jam Jehan Nima.
- Prometheus
- Beautiful Life.
- Aspiration.
5.Sussuration.
- I Xmnistatic.
- Just Waiting.
Promo Information. :-The songs on “Origins” were written and recorded over 25 years. Some in a small recording studio in Tahlequah, OK over a year’s time with John “Yakfe” Timothy, and some in Los Angeles working extensively with John Payne as a co-producer, mixing engineer, bassist and vocalist. Also certain songs were known as some of the first prog projects done via internet transfer, and finalizes with “Sussuration” and “Lemniscate,” completely produced and mixed by LaRue.
Lisa is a big fan of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, Genesis, and others, the hometown boys Kansas played a big part in her influential years, as well.
