The best smooth jazz album of 1994 is remarkable not only for Chappell's trademark melodies, but also the energetic live interaction with touring and studio bandmates Tom Politzer (sax), Jean Michel Hure on electric and acoustic guitars, Dennis Murphy (electric bass) and drummer Jimmy Sanchez.
While Chappell played with each of these for several years, he had established himself as a minimally accompanied new age pianist and had never recorded with them before.
Over the Top gets rolling with the cool and easy rhythm of "That's Right," which features spirited bass and electric guitar and allows Chappell to explore higher octave harmonics.
The breezy "Arrival Time" perfectly reflects the band vibe, with electric guitar, sax and piano trading off melodic hooks.
Throughout the rest of the disc, Chappell and his band (later called Hearsay) vary tempos from gentle lilting ballads through swinging energetic gems like "The Happy Camper.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | That's RightJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 03:59 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 2 | Arrival TimeJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | The Way of the WindJim Chappell, Jean-Michel Hure, Dennis Murphy, Tom Politzer, Jimmy Sanchez | Jim Chappell | Play | 05:32 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 4 | FreedomJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 05:14 | 12 MB | 33 MB |
| 5 | Loving the LadyJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 04:58 | 11 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | The Happy CamperJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 7 | Over the TopJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 8 | The WandererJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 05:16 | 12 MB | 30 MB |
| 9 | Spring SongJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 10 | Time and AgainJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 05:50 | 13 MB | 32 MB |
| 11 | A Deeper RedJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 06:20 | 14 MB | 35 MB |
| 12 | DavidJim Chappell | Jim Chappell | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 14 MB |
| 56 mins | 129 MB | |||||
| 56 mins | 326 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorge Anguiano | Dancer |
| 2 | Ann Barrett | Choreographer |
| 3 | Chris Bellman | Mastering |
| 4 | Jim Chappell | Arranger, Composer, Mixing, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 5 | Marilyn Coyne | Oboe |
| 6 | Tammie Dalporto Brodie | Dancer |
| 7 | Byron Gregory | Dancer |
| 8 | Stephen Hart | Engineer |
| 9 | Stephen A. Hart | Engineer |
| 10 | Jean-Michel Hure | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) |
| 11 | Mark Johann | Concept, Photography |
| 12 | Melanie Jordin | Associate Producer, Photography |
| 13 | Karen Kael | Copy Editor, Liner Editor |
| 14 | Kent Matcke | Mixing Assistant |
| 15 | Marcia Miget | Flute |
| 16 | Denis Murphy | Bass (Electric), Composer |
| 17 | Dennis Murphy | Bass (Electric), Composer, Fretless Bass |
| 18 | Tom Politzer | Composer, Photography, Saxophone |
| 19 | Greg Rahn | Synthesizer |
| 20 | Jimmy Sanchez | Composer, Drums, Photography |
| 21 | Kevin Scott | Assistant Engineer, Mixing |
| 22 | Michael Spiro | Congas, Percussion |
| 23 | Tia Stoller | Artwork, Design |
| 24 | Andrea Yallop | Art Direction |
| 25 | Terence Yallop | Executive Producer |
| 26 | Wendy Jill York | Stylist |
| 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). |