Michael Stearns
M'Ocean
Michael Stearns fans must be in heaven this year, as he has a plethora of both new releases and reissues. M'Ocean was originally released in 1983 on cassette, a year later on CD on the long defunct Sonic Atmospheres label. Now digitally remastered and repackaged, it is thankfully available once again. The music is full of shimmering brightness, balancing low deep drones with elegant metallic highs. It is rich with texture. I absolutely love the majestic build up on 'Sirens,' which seems to escalate so much at the 2:00 mark that its going to crash, and indeed it does a few seconds later, passing away into oblivion, leaving tinkling bells over quiet electronic atmospheres. The music floats quietly for awhile, but then becomes incredibly intense once again.

'Sirens' is a great balancing act of opposing musical tendencies, with palpable tension between the two. Anyone who thinks electronic music can't be delivered with passion must listen to 'Marriage Chords,' which aches with yearning, and yet guys will think it sounds cool – honest! Musical purists may notice that the title track has been shortened by about three minutes from its original version, but I have to say that it doesn't seem to compromise the musical integrity. When Stearns remastered it, he must have edited carefully, because the beginning and ending of 'M'Ocean' remains intact as far as I could tell. The same is true of 'Fireflies' Delight,' which is only shortened about a minute from the original, and still runs almost ten minutes. The sound and packaging are superior to the original. In fact, 'Fireflies' Delight' is awfully cute and bouncy, so I wouldn't have minded if another minute or two had been lopped off.

'Lightplay' is as close to Vangelis as Michael Stearns has ever sounded, again very sweeping and majestic. Perfectly titled, the music sparkles, and literally sounds like sunlight dancing off the ocean, viewed from underneath. Like some of the preceding tracks, it also builds to a very intense crescendo. This makes 'Vicki's Dance' a welcome respite, with its very calming, quieting effect. 'Walking Song' is actually a classical piece from Igor Stravinsky, nicely updated Stearns' style. Quiet and reflective, it brings 'M'Ocean' to a stop. Essential listening. (PD)

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