Heaven Earth

 (2 customer reviews)

Although I found their two prior albums a cut above this one, this is the one that ends up on my player the most due to one song. DORIAN BENEDICTION is a jazz/choral piece that astonished me when I first heard it. It isn't often that I listen to a single song repeatedly, but I did in this case. Chris Dedrick wrote 8 bars of a melody and lent it to some prominent New York jazz musicians to improvise to. Chris in turn wrote the vocal arrangements, with lyrics apparently in reference to the Israelites' enlightenment in the wake of the crucifix. The group's vocals are at their most exquisite here. This "Mormon Tabernacle Choir in miniature" as the group jokingly refers to, is a perfect example of how good fusion music can be. Any fan of Herbie Mann's "Concerto Grosso in D Blues" would find this four minute plus piece equally enjoyable. A masterpiece.

This one from the band got more poppy overall and I like pop more than jazz so it's a solid entry in this classic bands canon. Songs like 'you be me , I'll be me' are so true that few have said it so well about love. you be me , I'll be me .close but still independently, I am a swan you are a raven come fly with me" man this pop song isn't about two as one instead it's saying we all need a little space sometimes even when together. The jazzy playing is still here behind the singers of course keeping up the tradition of being a bridge between the older pop and the rock era. Sweet songs and more the free design deliver. But if you are a more rock fan you may say 'this is like pure sweetness" but it's more in depth than that. The jazzy playing behind many songs lends a different layer too. I was horrified when these went out of print. But you can get them on mp3. I still collect cd's though. So I was glad to grab all of this group's catalog on cd while I still could. Still it...Read more