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Binkelman's Corner by Bill Binkelman |
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Bill Binkelman is a long-time icon in the industry. |
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| The Sound Of Peace |
| By John Fluker |
| Label: Retribution Records |
| Released 3/1/2006 |
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| The Sound Of Peace tracks |
1. There is a Road (in memory of Magnolia Porter) 
2. A Father's Love
3. Asleep Beneath The Moon (Part One)
4. Journey Of A Soul
5. Bridge Of Light (Solo Piano)
6. The Hollow Earth
7. The Sound Of Peace
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8. What is True?
9. A Time Before (Solo Piano)
10. Asleep Beneath The Moon (Part Two)
11. Blue Sunday
12. Through New Eyes
13. A Dream Remembers
14. Life Begins
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The Sound Of Peace |
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The Sound Of Peace is one of the more beautiful and serene piano with synth (mostly strings) albums I have ever heard. John Fluker’s dexterous and discrete use of top shelf electronic keyboard embellishments is so flawless that it’s mystifying why he can do it so perfectly and so many others are relatively inept (they’re either overdoing it or using inferior keyboard sounds). In this regard, Fluker exists on a whole other artistic plane (where he resides with a only few other artists in this genre, including George Skaroulis and Laura Sullivan). Color me seriously impressed. You will be too, if you enjoy quiet, gentle, and evocative piano compositions that flow effortlessly on peaceful washes of melody. Introspective, reflective, and romantic in the best sense of the word, all fourteen tracks on The Sound Of Peace are a joy to hear which is what I did, over and over again, as I played the album many times in preparation for this review.
As with any album that I have such high praise for, picking out selected songs to comment on seems superfluous, more of an academic exercise than anything evaluative. However, in order to detail some specifics, I'll write a few choice words on assorted songs. There Is A Road is a wistful gently rolling ballad with gorgeous string textures about midway through and a softly romantic refrain. Asleep Beneath The Moon begins in an introspective and sparse vein, with great interplay between the lower register refrain and upper register free-playing. Dramatic but subdued strings lend an undercurrent of melancholy to the tune (here, Fluker's music reminded me somewhat of Mister Potts' fine recording, Dreaming For Real). The song also has a cinematic air to it as well. The Hollow Earth is delicately sad, almost painfully so, and here the strings (to my ears, at least) include bowed upright bass, deep in the mix, lending the song some pleasant gravitas. However, it's the high end violins that wend their way into my heart, almost bringing tears to my eyes (I'm not kidding). The title track is almost as powerful, opening with rolling chords and sweet but soft romantic violins. Despite the "speed" of some of Fluker's playing, the production and engineering (all of it by the artist -- amazing!), are so low key that never once does the music sway even remotely near melodrama. That is no small feat, and trust me, I have a finely tuned "melodrama detector"! Fluker ends the album with the closest thing to a spirited piece. Life Begins starts with some birdsong before exhilarating strings and lively piano playing elevate the music into an unmistakably joyous and joyful ode to life, as the title might indicate. Still, even with this change in mood, Fluker the technician holds enough of the "oomph" in check so that the overall impact does not derail the CD as a whole.
While there are two solo piano numbers on this CD, you should definitely be a fan of synthesizer accompaniment or you won’t like this very much (although, the high quality of his textures and strings are such that you’d have to be a helluva purist to object to them).
The Sound Of Peace is a gem and there are moments (quite a few, actually) where John Fluker's music is simply too beautiful to adequately express in words. This entire album was composed later/late in the evening hours, and it shows. This is ideal music to fill the "quiet hours" when darkness has fallen and the world is still. An uncommonly exquisite CD, The Sound Of Peace earns my highest recommendation as well as my admiration for this artist from whom I hope this is only the first of many releases
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Rating: Excellent  |
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- reviewed by Bill Binkelman on 7/14/2006 |
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