First released in 1995 on the Red Hot label, Distant Echoes was the second and last album of a brief Jade Warrior comeback.
The CD was soon deleted, but Blueprint reissued it with new artwork in 2001.
The previous album, Breathing the Storm, was a serene but slightly flavorless collection of ambient instrumental tracks.
Distant Echoes remains in the instrumental new-age-meets-prog-rock realm, but it leans more toward progressive rock overall.
The trio of Jon Field (flutes, EWI), Colin Henson (guitars), and Dave Sturt (fretless bass) is augmented by a host of guests, including a choir, a drummer, percussionists, saxophonists, and ex-King Crimson violinist David Cross.
The sound palette is richer and has more punch.
Henson's electric guitar was almost unheard on the previous album, while it gets more attention here.
Exotic influences (mostly Arabic) appear here and there, spicing up the sound.
"Night of the Shamen" constitutes a highlight, as does "Into the Sunlight," the two most progressive pieces of the set.
Old fans of Jade Warrior will find themselves in more familiar territory with this less ethereal, more visceral album.
Recommended.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Into the SunlightJon Field | Jade Warrior | Play | 08:02 | 18 MB | 49 MB |
| 2 | Calling the WindJon Field, Dave Sturt | Jade Warrior | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 19 MB |
| 3 | Snake GoddessJon Field | Jade Warrior | Play | 04:11 | 9 MB | 27 MB |
| 4 | Timeless JourneyJon Field | Jade Warrior | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 14 MB |
| 5 | Night of the ShamenJon Field, Dave Sturt | Jade Warrior | Play | 07:30 | 17 MB | 46 MB |
| 6 | Standing Stones | Jade Warrior | Play | 06:16 | 14 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Village DanceJon Field | Jade Warrior | Play | 06:49 | 15 MB | 39 MB |
| 8 | Spirits of the WaterJon Field | Jade Warrior | Play | 07:16 | 16 MB | 35 MB |
| 9 | Evocation | Jade Warrior | Play | 01:46 | 4 MB | 7 MB |
| 49 mins | 114 MB | |||||
| 49 mins | 267 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andy Aitchison | Violin (Electric) |
| 2 | David Cross | Violin (Electric) |
| 3 | John Evans | Flugelhorn |
| 4 | John Scott Evans | Flugelhorn |
| 5 | Jon Field | Artwork, Composer, Congas, Cover Art, EWI, Flute, Producer |
| 6 | Simon Heyworth | Mastering |
| 7 | Jade Warrior | Primary Artist |
| 8 | Tom Newman | Choir/Chorus, Engineer, Producer |
| 9 | Dave Sturt | Composer, Engineer, Fretless Bass, Producer, Programming |
| 10 | Chris Thorpe | Remastering |
| 11 | Theo Travis | Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor) |
| 12 | Gowan Turnbull | Clarinet (Bass) |
| 13 | Christine Williams | Choir/Chorus |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |