Ben Leinbach

This dreamy music will calm and relax the listener, stimulate the senses, and encourage deep meditation. Each track is heavily influenced by Indian music. Consequently, it is very trance-like. Each of these four tracks is based on a drone, together with sparse melodies and ethereal sound effects. The result is a mystical experience that is intended to put one in touch not only with the inner self, but also with the external wonders of the cosmos. Indeed, these ambient compositions are powerful musical tapestries that encourage contemplation and even enlightenment. Of the four tracks, Manose Singh's haunting bamboo flute playing on "Khumjung" really stands out. The Spirit of Yoga is the perfect background for any kind of yoga practice - from vigorous to meditative.

Strangely enough, Tiger in the Rain would have been a smoother transition from Sleeping Gypsy, just as Burchfield Nines would have been a more natural follow-up to The Art of Tea. For the first time, Michael Franks made an album completely without the production team of Tommy LiPuma, Al Schmitt and Lee Hershberg, employing instead John Simon (the Band, Janis Joplin, Leonard Cohen). The recording boasts a large number of celebrated horn and string players, as well as jazz luminaries Ron Carter, Bucky Pizzarelli, Kenny Barron, Mike Mainieri and Flora Purim. Lush, romantic and more experimental than previous efforts, Tiger in the Rain has a seriousness of purpose that faithfully echoes that of Sleeping Gypsy, with less of a Brazilian feel and overall a more somber tone of lost love.