The Deep End (2001)

"Laudanum" (2001) is a short set of ambient pieces from Amir Baghiri and Rudiger Gleisberg. This CD is almost fatal in its eerie oxymorons. Baghiri and Gleisberg contrast deep drones against Gregorian chants. The chilling effect is enough to send deep listeners off - well - the deep end. The atmospheres are full and dense. The drone is dark and incessant. The chant samples are very much out of place and, at the same time, in the perfect place. Baghiri and Gleisberg are excellent sound designers. This eerie soundscape will appeal to fans of Wendy Carlos, Meg Bowles, Mathias Grassow, and Alio Die.

The Jam: The Larry Graham & Graham Central Station Anthology is an exhaustive, lovingly assembled double-disc retrospective of Graham's entire career, following his immediate post-Sly & the Family Stone recordings with Graham Central Station, through his luxurious solo quiet storm hits of the late '70s and early '80s, to his reunion with the Station in the '90s.

Sounds of the dolphin merge with piano, flute, guitar and gentle orchestration to produce a stunning album inspired by the most intelligent of mammals. The extraordinary relationship we have with the dolphin, and its inexplicable ability to heal and calm us has long been recognized by all who have come into contact with them. In Dolphin Healing Richard Young uses the playful nature and mystical powers of our ocean friends to produce an album of brilliant originality just perfect for healing and spiritual relaxation.

Long frustrated by the release schedule restraints of conventional labels, electronic new age Renaissance man David Arkenstone joined with his wife, Diane, to create Neo Pacifica, a label releasing a wide variety of creatively diverse expressions. One of the label's highlights is introducing vocalist/keyboardist Diane as a composer and artist in her own right. With David's composing and production assistance, Diane creates what comes across as a continuous, unbroken musical piece, but is actually comprised of eight thoughtful compositions. The promise of trance in the album title might imply that this will be something of a formless musical experience, but all the ethereal effects (which include her whispery, seductive voice chanting like our subconscious) are given a solid musical foundation, complete with drum machine groove and reasonably memorable synth or piano melodies…

Belshazzar is one of Handel’s works that could be called a total failure at the time of its first performance. Premiered in 1745 to a nearly empty house, contemporary reports say that it was a disastrously bad performance. This oratorio never gained popularity in Handel’s lifetime, and he only performed it twice after the first performance. Yet this is no minor work. Full of great Handelian arias, and stirring choral movements, this oratorio deserves to stand among his greatest works. Drama and energy play like a flame through the pages of this work. It has everything a Handel oratorio needs: tension, excitement, and attractive melodies.

Wind is the work of Hazard, aka Swedish sound artist B. J. Nilsen (as well as a large variety of meteorological phenomena, who presumably don't get royalties). Using filtering, harmonisation and sundry other techniques, Nilsen alchemically transforms this source material into a set of ambient pieces of unearthly beauty. Deep bass drones, gentle, sighing tones and crackles morph gently into another; occasionally the recognisable sound of wind on water or through leaves can be heard, or the deep breath of moving air as it caresses the microphone diaphragm. Nilsen conjures up the same sense of place that Brian Eno's On Land manages, each piece having its own distinctive, immersive soundworld…

Collecting Nightwish's first three albums and the EP "Over the Hills and Far Away" (which includes six additional songs that were not on the original spinefarm edition) into one package, this boxed set is a nice addition to any fan's collection…

Hip-O's Ultimate Collection: The Complete Hits will likely be too much music for most audiences, simply because most listeners don't remember much more than "Love Will Keep Us Together," "Muskrat Love," and "Do That to Me One More Time" from Captain & Tennille. They actually had many more hits than that – 11 more, four of which hit the Top Ten, actually (for the record, they are "The Way I Want to Touch You," "Lonely Night (Angel Face)," "Shop Around," and "You Never Done It Like That"). All of them are here, along with several other singles and album tracks on this generous 22-track collection. To be frank, Captain & Tennille weren't quite varied or deep enough to make this collection not lose steam toward the middle, but the highlights – the three Neil Sedaka-penned tunes ("Love Will Keep Us Together," "Lonely Night (Angel Face)," "You Never Done It Like That,") plus "Do That to Me One More Time" – are all very good, standing proudly amongst soft rock hits of the time.