The oboe is a particularly emotional instrument that listeners don't hear enough of in new age, and Russel Walder conveys an equal amount of joy and haunting melancholy despite the titular promise of only the prior.
He balances intense, soaring trip-hoppy numbers like "Faith Embrace" and "State of Grace" (complete with hypnotic machine-generated percussion) with classical-flavored, orchestrally enhanced meditations.
Some of these offer a heavy wall of sound ("This Moment Now"), while others are more subtle and mystical.
A handful of tracks feature the lush piano of Steve Small, who elsewhere is relegated to a lot of keyboard washes and effects.
More of that organic touch would be nice.
The CD cover photo finds Walder jumping in exultation.
The music inside may make one's heart leap a little but overall the effect is that of some deep mood swinging from light to dark and back again.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faith EmbraceRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | State of GraceRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 23 MB |
| 3 | This Moment NowRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | OneRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 05:08 | 11 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | Through the GatesDavid Arkenstone, Russel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 28 MB |
| 6 | The Road to YouRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 05:06 | 11 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Spark the SunRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 04:55 | 11 MB | 23 MB |
| 8 | Holding the SpaceRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 05:44 | 13 MB | 28 MB |
| 9 | More Than WordsRussel Walder | Russel Walder | Play | 05:06 | 11 MB | 28 MB |
| 45 mins | 104 MB | |||||
| 45 mins | 237 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karen Abplanalp | Photography |
| 2 | Miranda Adams | Viola, Violin |
| 3 | Robin Algaze | Art Direction, Design |
| 4 | David Arkenstone | Composer |
| 5 | Dick Beetham | Mastering |
| 6 | Renee Brennan | Vocals |
| 7 | Matthew Brown | Keyboards |
| 8 | Margaret Cooke | Baroque Cello |
| 9 | Nigel Gavin | Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Mandolin |
| 10 | Stephen Small | Keyboards, Piano |
| 11 | Russel Walder | Arranger, Composer, Oboe, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 12 | Terence Yallop | Executive Producer |
Russel Walder
| 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). |