Monday, September 5, 2011

CD Review – Crystal Keys: Songs to Awaken & Heal, by Lia Scallon

The latest album by Lia Scallon is supposed to channel the crystal keys to the bodies, hearts, and minds of listeners. I don’t know anything about crystals or their healing powers, but I do know that the music on this CD is captivating and soothing and provides a therapeutic experience in itself.

Each of the tracks is named for a particular type of crystal. I don’t know the significance of a specific melody or sound or vocal accompaniment by Scallon to a given crystal. That’s a matter best left to crystal experts and enthusiasts, who no doubt will understand and appreciate what Scallon has offered up here.

However, the important thing underlying all of this is the music, and in this respect Scallon’s undertaking is accessible to all, crystal aficionado or not. The background music is created with keyboards, synthesizers, didgeridoo, and other modern and traditional instruments and stands on its own. Scallon’s hypnotic, otherworldly vocals add an extra, ethereal dimension to the music that both transforms and transports the listener. Also, rather than actual lyrics, Scallon’s vocals are more like sounds and utterances, intonated in a soft-spoken timbre that comforts and reassures, setting the mind at ease.

So even if crystals are not your thing or you know nothing about them, but you’re looking for a relaxing mental getaway and like tranquil instrumental music and exotic vocals, you can’t go wrong by this album.

--Raj Manoharan

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