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Mushroom: Naked, Stoned & Stabbed
by Chris M. Slawecki
Mushroom's first new set in three years, twelve new originals culminating in a cover of “Singing a Song in the Morning," co-written by Kevin Ayers of the Soft Machine and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd in heady 1969, is an acoustic guitarist's dream--every song strums and hums with its psychedelic, folksy sound. Mushroom's careening, psychedelic collective guitar approach sounds somewhat unaffected by the last four musical decades, and yet Naked, Stoned & Stabbed feels like a milestone for modern progressive ...
Continue ReadingJames Johnson: Unity
by John W. Patterson
Ever since hearing Johnson’s Surrender, which is in my top five fav ambient releases, I was eager to hear this earlier work. I can hear now, the proto-forms, faint traces and olde tracks that lead to his current ambient space excellence.This release opens with an incredibly similar sound to that found on the Eno release, paying tribute the Apollo missions. That Eno release was Apollo -Atmospheres & Soundtracks. “Forward” mirrors nicely the very best piece of that Eno ...
Continue ReadingJames Johnson and Robert Scott Thompson: Forgotten Places
by John W. Patterson
Fans of Harold Budd, Brian Eno, and Roger Eno piano with treatments works will enjoy this release. This, to date, is James Johnson's most “mainstream, new agey, relaxation piano" release. It will have a very broad appeal to those afraid of weirder-voiced ambience or highly synthesized excursions. As Michael Allison aka Darshan Ambient is one of the newer masters of melodic ambience so too I see Johnson has this ability in him to create compositionally. The dreamy and lilting pianoscapes ...
Continue ReadingJames Johnson: Surrender
by John W. Patterson
Few, very few CDs I receive in the ambient genre, ever reach me as deeply as Surrender. Few, very few releases earn the right, to be called a masterpiece.Johnson's Surrender is a solid masterpiece. Ambient works collectors who desire to only collect the very best must have this release. Fans of Steve Roach, Brian Eno, Jonn Serrie, and Harold Budd will be right at home with this CD.I received this demo long, long ago and we ...
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