CD Review – Love’s River, by Laura Sullivan

Laura Sullivan’s sixth release is a study in subtlety, providing much-needed and welcome respite from the amplified noise of everyday life.

 

The eleven original piano compositions penned by Sullivan are elegant and gorgeous, profuse in the fluidity of passion suggested by the title.

 

In addition to Sullivan’s piano and synthesized orchestrations, the rich sound mix includes guitar by Will Ackerman (producer on four tracks), trumpet and flugelhorn by Jeff Oster, cello by Eugene Friesen, oboe and English horn by Nancy Rumbel, and oboe and English horn by Jill Haley.

 

This is a perfect CD to take along anytime you want to sojourn down love’s river.

 

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Between the Shores of Our Souls, by Mirabai Ceiba

On their fifth album, the duo of singer/guitarist Markus Sieber and singer/harpist/keyboardist Angelika Baumbach present songs of love and longing.

 

In addition to original lyrics, the recordings also feature the poetry of Rumi and Kahlil Gibran, resulting in musical ruminations that go well beyond the simple concept of love to ponder its deeper philosophical and psychological underpinnings.

 

Sieber and Baumbach literally make beautiful music together, with Baumbach’s angelic voice blending perfectly with Sieber’s vocals, which are as soft as his plush guitar notes.

 

The duo receive solid studio support from a number of fine world-class musicians playing trumpet, cello, violin, viola, percussion, keyboards, bass, electric guitar, ukulele, and tambour.

 

This is a pleasant CD for anyone who likes gentle love songs that stimulate the intellect as well as touch the heart.

 

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Attuning to Oneness: The Harmonic Ascension, by Paradiso and Rasamayi

The duo of Paradiso and Rasamyi team up again to collaborate on this album of mystical music.

 

Paradiso plays didjeridoo, keyboards, theremin, and gong, and Rasamayi performs chants as well as plays crystal merkaba and Alchemy crystal singing bowls.

 

The music is very somber and reverent, with Paradiso’s keyboards providing a subtle foundation over which Rasamayi’s soothing voice placates, accented by Paradiso’s theremin and gong and Rasamayi’s crystal merkaba and Alchemy crystal singing bowls.

 

This CD sets the perfect mood for meditation, relaxation, or just a quiet evening. It’s even ideal for a nighttime drive, although the album’s back cover warns against driving or operating heavy machinery while listening to the record. I would say to heed this advice if you’re easily susceptible to falling asleep at the wheel while listening to quiet music or sounds. Otherwise, it’s a great accompaniment to and facilitator for driving, which is itself an act of meditation requiring concentration and focus.

 

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Heart of the Universe, by Peter Kater and Snatam Kaur

Fresh on the heels of his Grammy Award-nominated New Age masterpiece Light Body, Peter Kater offers up another original collection of beautiful keyboard-based tracks, this time in collaboration with American Sikh female vocalist Snatam Kaur (pronounced Sun-Autumn Car).

 

As evidenced by Kaur’s adopted Sikh tradition, the songs are quietly powerful anthems of peace and love, fueled by Kaur’s soft but firm vocals (her inflections remind me of Celine Dion and her sweet timbre is similar to that of Susan Boyle) and Kater’s gorgeous piano playing and elegant synthesizer textures.

 

Making the already magical proceedings even more exquisite are wonderful contributions from Paul McCandless on oboe, penny whistles, and English horn, Bijoux Barbosa on bass, Christian Teele on percussion, and Glen Velez Frame and Larry Thompson on drums. Also on hand is the Macedonia Radio Symphonic Orchestra, giving the recording a touch of classical class.

 

The result is one of the most beautiful vocal/instrumental albums I have heard in any genre.

 

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Weekly William Shatner Double "Bill": Double the Bill, Double the Thrill

If you’re as much of a Shatfan as I am, then you’ll be thrilled to know that you can watch William Shatner every Monday through Saturday in all his scenery-chewing and over-the-top gut-busting glory in two different decades in two different uniforms in two different hairstyles (or hairpieces?).

First up, Shatner’s heyday (shortly before he became a self-parodying, perpetually wealth-generating cottage industry unto himself) came in the 1980s, when—at the same time he was reprising his role as James T. Kirk in the Star Trek movies—he pounded the pavement and cleaned the streets of slimy scum as the titular no-nonsense police sergeant in T.J. Hooker, airing most weeknights at 7:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday after midnight, and Fridays at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Universal HD.

Shatner as a uniformed police officer is about as high-concept as you can get, making this the best cop show of all time. Shatner often gets touted for his peerless hood jumping, but he was quite adept behind the wheel as well. He could drift (brake-skidding the car on fast turns) with the best of them. And who could forget that Shatastic ‘80s perm? (Was it real or was it a hairpiece? Find out at www.shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com.) The series also stars the adorably smug Adrian Zmed, a very fresh-faced Heather Locklear, and Shatner’s fellow aging pretty boy James Darren.

Then, catch Shatner two decades earlier in his first iteration of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, which airs Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. on Me TV (Memorable Entertainment Television). Nothing beats Shatner hamming philosophic about the quandaries of mankind’s place in the universe, all the while sporting a ‘60s-style“straight-laced” coiffure (again—real or fake? Check out www.shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com). Shatner’s partners in pop cultural perpetuity include Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, and George Takei.

So don’t forget to enjoy William Shatner in two of his most memorable TV roles. Tune in five nights (and four early mornings) a week, same Shat time, same Shat channel! (Actually, that's five different times on two different channels.)

--Raj Manoharan

TV – Retro TV Roundup

If the current slate of programming on broadcast, cable, satellite, and pay TV hasn’t caught your fancy, there are plenty of old favorites to catch up and relive the good old days with on the slew of retro television networks that are booming in popularity.

First up, you can watch William Shatner in all his scenery-chewing and over-the-top gut-busting glory in two different decades in two different uniforms. Shatner’s heyday (shortly before he became a self-parodying, perpetually wealth-generating cottage industry unto himself) came in the 1980s, when—at the same time he was reprising his role as James T. Kirk in the Star Trek movies—he pounded the pavement and cleaned the streets of slimy scum as no-nonsense police sergeant T.J. Hooker.

Shatner as a uniformed police officer is about as high-concept as you can get, making this the best cop show of all time. Shatner often gets touted for his peerless hood jumping, but he was quite adept behind the wheel as well. He could drift (brake-skidding the car on fast turns) with the best of them. The series, which also stars the adorably smug Adrian Zmed, a very fresh-faced Heather Locklear, and fellow aging pretty boy James Darren, airs most weeknights at 7:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday after midnight, and Fridays at 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Universal HD.

Then, catch Shatner two decades earlier in his first iteration of Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, which airs Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. on Me TV (Memorable Entertainment Television). Nothing beats Shatner hamming philosophic about the quandaries of mankind’s place in the universe. Remarkably, 47 years after the show’s debut, with the exception of DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy) and James Doohan (Scotty), the other five main cast members are still with us.

By the way, if you love classic television, Me TV should be your first and last stop on the dial. In addition to featuring scores of classic television shows, the network features brilliant commercials touting its various slogans composed entirely of expertly spliced-together clips from all of its shows. This is the ultimate TV channel for the ultimate TV fan.

Between Me TV and Antenna TV, weekend afternoons and evenings make for a veritable bonanza of retro classics. Saturdays and Sundays on Antenna TV, Martin Milner and Kent McCord patrol the streets of Los Angeles as Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed on Adam-12 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Then, Jack Webb and Harry Morgan take over as Los Angeles plainclothes detectives Joe Friday and Bill Gannon on Dragnet from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Saturdays on Me TV, Adam West and Burt Ward star as the caped-crusading dynamic duo Batman and Robin, who race in the Batmobile to save Gotham City from a comical cavalcade of costumed crackpots, with little help from a hilariously inept police force, in the 1960s pop cultural phenomenon Batman. The show airs at 7:00 p.m. and is followed by Irwin Allen’s Lost in Space at 8:00 p.m. and Star Trek at 9:00 p.m.

You can take your pick of Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, or Christian Bale as the various Dark Knights (Keaton and Bale are my personal favorite modern movie Batmen), but no matter what the fanboys naysay, Adam West (who also played Batman on the big screen) made the most indelible and lasting mark of any of them on pop culture. He is the one Batman to rule them all.

Check your local listings or go online to learn about all the great classic shows airing on Antenna TV, Me TV, TV Land, and Universal HD.

--Raj Manoharan

CD (Fan) Review – Fundamental, by Andy Summers and Fernanda Takai

Andy Summers’ latest album – his first with a band in nearly a decade (aside from The Police) and his first with vocals throughout (although not his) since his 1987 solo debut – is an excellent addition to his catalog.
 

The songs, written by Summers with the exception of the non-English lyrics on about half of the album, are a mix of bossa nova, pop, rock, and jazz, and are sung by popular Japanese-Brazilian singer-songwriter Fernanda Takai, whom Summers met while working on the United Kingdom of Ipanema concert/documentary DVD with Brazilian guitar legend Roberto Menescal.
 

Takai’s warm, sultry vocals blend perfectly with Summers’typically brilliant and complex fusion guitar leads, rhythms, and solos, and the balanced sound mix allows both the vocals and the guitars to shine without drowning each other out.
 

In addition to acoustic and electric guitars, Summers plays keyboards and synthesizers, and his tight, solid band includes longtime collaborator Abraham Laboriel Sr. on bass and Marcos Suzano on drums and percussion.
 

Every track is wonderful, but my absolute, instant favorite is“Falling from the Blue.” This is what The Police might have sounded like if Takai were the vocalist instead of Sting (I’m sure Sting still would have been the bassist). Luckily for Sting, Takai was just a little girl when The Police first came together.
 

The melting pot of musical cultures and the outstanding performances of everyone involved make this an exhilarating and rewarding listening experience. Andy Summers’ fans certainly will not be disappointed.
 

--Raj Manoharan

CD Review – Pianoforte, by Timothy Crane

Timothy Crane’s third album is a nice collection of classy piano tunes that provide a pleasant listening experience.

 

While Crane is an accomplished and versatile performer, he has chosen to make his elegant compositions the focus of this record. The melodies and chord progressions are graceful and tasteful, brought to vivid life by Crane’s masterful piano technique, as well as his synthesized orchestration and some accompaniment by Rick Henley on acoustic guitar. At times, both Crane’s compositions and performances remind me a little bit of Bruce Hornsby.

 

This is a fine CD that is a delight to listen to from beginning to end.

 

--Raj Manoharan