HW: Spiral Realms 'Solar Wind'

[cjohnson]

       This has gotten a couple of listens by now, and I have to dig it.

       The sound quality is quite good and clear, although the dynamic
       range seems slightly limited (like live tapes often do).  The
       fidelity doesn't match that of the original studio recordings (of
       course!), but there is very little too complain about.

       The cover artwork is the usual 3D-mapped-KPT-created-"otherworld"
       that graces the previous 2 SR titles, although the back cover has 4
       tiny pictures of Len, Simon, Del, and Del & Simon.  Del's famous
       axe is not particularly distinguishable from a guitar in either of
       his shots. :-(


       Tracklist:
       1. Cysyrgy
       2. Lunar Sea
       3. 1000 Years Under Solar Sails
       4. Tritium
       5. Solar Wind
       6. Del Dettmar Improvisation
       7. The Forge of Vulcan
       8. Interstellar Overdrive

       Songs recorded at:
       1,2 - The Lounge Axe, Chicago 7/22/95
       4,5,8 - The Fox Theater, Boulder CO 7/30/95
       3,6,7 - The Great American Music Hall, San Fran CA 8/6/95 (same
       gig as most of the Nikwind live CD 'Past or Future')


       Without doubt the most interesting song (to me) was the Floyd
       cover at the end.  However, all the songs sound good, the violin is
       quite visible in the mix most of the time, and the songs do not
       seem hurried or rushed at all.  Quite a laid-back pace, in fact.

       If you enjoyed the previous Spiral Realms releases, this is an
       excellent addition.

       An interesting tidbit:  in the Cleopatra catalog inserted into the
       CD there is a listing for 3 SR titles, with the third being not
       'Solar Wind' but rather 'Live Transmission from G9'.  Closer
       examination reveals that LTfG9 has Cat# 9764, while my new SW has
       UPC code 97642 at the end.  Apparently they renamed the CD between
       printing the catalogs and producing the CD!  :-)


       Captain Cloud
       cjohnson at hpsc.hisd.harris.com

       ObRockingPsych: Dead Flowers 'Moontan'