Amber

Artist: Michael Jones w , and David Darling
Label: Narada
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 076742601423
EAN: 0076742601423
ASIN: B000005OXI

Release Date: 1990-10-25

Related Categories:

General

| Jazz | Styles | Music

General

| New Age | Styles | Music

Meditation

| New Age | Styles | Music

Solo Instrumental

| New Age | Styles | Music

General

| Pop | Styles | Music

Listmania:

Journey into the Musical World of Desired Imagination
My 2 Favorite New Age Piano CDs and 24 Tied For Third
My All-Time Favorite Album List #1
Piano Gems

Tracks:

Rainfall
Sunshine Canyon
Indian Summer
Wu Wei
After The Sun
Dreamlight
Shadows Of The Moon

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After the Rain
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Customer Reviews:

Lush emotional music for the simple parts of ourselves.......2005-07-11

This music is so simple, it may elude some. But if you are in touch with your emotions or just yourself for that matter, or would like to be....
This album may help you!
It has helped me through some difficult times, bringing me back to the simplicity in myself. Often we run from it, seeking other things...but all we find is pain. Music like this helps lift the bandages, so we can acknowledge our wounds and constructively deal with them.

Lovely gorgeous, outstanding music perfect for our modern times.

Peaceful Melodies.......2004-03-26

In the late summer of 1987 I went into a shop in Cave Creek, Arizona. It was hot and rainy outside, and inside Amber was playing. The peaceful melody and calmness was so overwhelming; I knew I had to have this CD. Thank goodness this shop also sold CD's.

Maybe it was the hot summer rain from that day, but after all these years I can't listen to this CD without that same feeling of calm and tranquility. We even played this CD last year at my daughters wedding. It was the music that played while the guests were being seated. Couldn't have been better.

A fantastic CD. Would recommend to anyone who wants to really "listen" to music. Michael Jones' piano is haunting and David Darling's cello complements well. Two very fine artist who meld well together.

A Little Too Off Hand.......2003-11-04

I am a died-in-the-wool Michael Jones fan. He was my first introduction to what was called 'New Age' music, and one of the people that convinced me that there was some very legitimate music being made in this genre - whatever your definition of legitimate music is. He is a technically adept pianist with a fine sense of musicality and an eerie ability to avoid the overplaying which dogs some of his fellow musicians. By 1987, his career had reached a high plateau, and he was getting the recognition he genuinely deserves.

David Darling first made a name for himself as part of the Paul Winter Consort, after which he went on as an independent performer, teacher, and enthusiast. While most noted for his music advocacy, he has produced several albums, including "Cello Blue," which was both a 2002 Grammy nominee and earned an AFIM Indie award. Personally, I find his early work (such as this album) either to meandering or too repititious, but his professionalism is impossible to argue with.

So it is unfair to judge either musician based on this sublimely mediocre album. It simply fails to gel as a musical production. Narada is probably the culpably party, by giving in to the marketing ploy of combining a lesser known artist like Darling with Jones. There is nothing in the choice of Darling's tracks that conflicts with Jones' own work. Under normal circumstances listeners would like the album over all, and Darling would benefit from the exposure. Unfortunately, the synergy you expect simply fails to occur, and the result is lackluster.

Unfortunately, the production values of the original tape featured such weak dynamics that Jones' work falls short of its normal sparkle, and the average listener isn't going to put in the effort to work out what he is doing. As a result, the album has faded into obscurity. One of the things that irritates me the most is that nowhere except in the exceedingly fine print of the liner notes is it said that the Darling does his own piano work, i.e, none of these tracks are true joint performances. Which explains why I originally thought Jones was spending a lot of time playing with just his right hand. Instead, when Jones is the performer, Darling, when he does participate, is relegated to an accompanist.

The end result is that I feel this album is not really representative of either musician. The preformances are 'OK,' but both have better albums available. This is more of a curiosity for compulsive collectors than something I would recommend as a starter. There's nothing really wrong with it, but there is nothing remarkable here either.

Classic in the New-Age Genre.......2003-04-19

"Amber" is almost certainly Michael Jones's best CD; high praise indeed for a man who has consistently released top-notch works for 20 years.

Here, he combines with cellist David Darling to create a beautiful CD from start to finish. Michael's delicacy of touch on the piano has to be heard to be believed.

All the tracks are a joy to listen to, but I think that tracks 1-5 are as perfect as can be. Gorgeous melodies, incredible playing and technique make this CD a must-have.

This CD could easily be used as background music, but it deserves to be treated with respect- allow yourself to be immersed into its beauty.

Come on, Narada, re-release this CD!

A classic of its kind. Very highly recommended.

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