My review of "Quiet Music: The Original 3-Hour Collection" 3xCD by Steve Roach

[Richard Gürtler]

"Quiet Music" is one of the milestones in Steve Roach's huge discography as well as in the genre of ambient music. Recorded during the period of years 1983 to 1986 and firstly available on three cassettes, few years later, in 1988 released as CD album and in 1999 collected and remastered to a 2CD edition, all by Fortuna. Now, when Fortuna rights expired and 25 years passed since its creation, finally available via Projekt as "Quiet Music: The Original 3-Hour Collection" 3CD packaged in very decently and attractively looking 6-panel digipak. As indicated by its title, Steve presents here absolutely peaceful and minimal aerial washes, floating ambience at its most relaxing and meditative level. Several long form pieces are featured on this treasured set, for example both parts of "The Green Place" that complete disc one, each one clocking over 30-minute mark. This is most likely the most naturally sounding ambience in these series with strong organic feel enriched by captivating and relaxing field recordings that beautifully color Steve's serene soundscapes and Will Morris' flute (with the synthesizer help of Mike Christopher at the beginning of Part One). The music splendidly portrays the first part of the cover image. Disc two, consisting of five compositions, three of them are shorter, while the last two pieces, "A Few More Moments" and "Air And Light", are longer (13 and 32 minutes), is full of minimal and simple palettes, yet slowly and gently evolving, hauntingly beautiful and evoking vast landscape panoramas, where all these sonic textures capture pure magic of brightness, peace, serenity and silence. This truly fascinating journey, transporting each listener to another time and space, proceedes also on disc three. Two longer floaters include "Dreaming And Sleep" and "Sleep And Dreaming"(again featuring Will Morris on flute), while "Quiet Canon" clocks to 8 minutes, but all these three compositions will navigate you to beautifully magical and subconscious night sky trip. Usually I like to mention the most highlighting moments on each CD I review, but there is no need to do it with "Quiet Music", where each composition has its significant role and all of them are masterfully blended into one incredibly tranquilized continuous sonic environment. Speaking about the artwork, all three front cover images magnificently display not only the beauty and power of Mother Nature, but also the beauty and power of Steve Roach's groundbreaking sound painting and visionary. "Quiet Music" 3CD set is definitely a true collector's item, no matter if you own above mentioned first two CD editions or the original cassettes, this is another must have and ultimate classic from The Master!!!

Richard Gürtler (Sep 04, 2011, Bratislava, Slovakia)

[Brad Ross-MacLeod]

Read this review on Amazon.  You sure captured the spirit and beauty of this work.

[Richard Gürtler]

Thank you, Brad, for your nice words, I really appreciate that!!!