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| Steve Roach - Truth and Beauty |
 Released: 1999 Label: Timeroom Editions Cat. No.: Timeroom Editions 2 Total Time: 69:39 | |
Reviewed by: Stephanie Sollow, March 2000 Truth and Beauty. Wasn't it John Keats who wrote, "Beauty is truth, truth beauty"? Yes, he did, in imagining what the titular Grecian urn was saying to the less permanent human kind. Like that Grecian urn, the music of Steve Roach has a timeless quality - perhaps because so much of the earth, of the living world around us, is tied up into every note, every crash of percussion, every synth wash, every nook and cranny of his soundscapes. For all its texture, it is simple - clearly stated truthful statements of beauty. There is art, but no artifice. Natural rhythms like the beat of a drum, the beat of wings on air, or like the beat of our own heart. "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;…" The pieces on this compilation disk, subtitled "The Lost Pieces Volume Two," are mostly previously unreleased compositions from the early 90s, but also tracks from other, multi-artist compilations. The opening track is "Aftermath," wherein Roach demonstrates again the unique juxtaposition of stillness and movement - that magical moment when time seems suspended, the held breath of anticipation, the signature moment between the road taken and not taken. The slow drive through the war-torn and abandoned town where nothing makes a sound, not even the birds. The air is still, and thick. Where you expect at any second something startling will happen - something unexpected, but you remain just on the cusp of that moment. All this compacted into a mere 9+ minutes. "Aftermath" originally appeared on the Spanish version of Stormwarning. Many pieces are unused tracks from the Earth Island period - Roach's work with Suso Saiz in 1993. Track 5, "Fate Awaits" has an almost Pink Floyd quality about it - if one recalls the opening atmospherics to A Momentary Lapse of Reason or sections of The Division Bell even. A steel stringed guitar picks out crystal clear, shimmering notes a bit like David Gilmour (courtesy here of Saiz). And yet, there is also something of a Tangerine Dream quality to it as well. "Beyond The Blood" is lead by round percussion and bass, while synth washes undulate, crest, and fall, rising with the high-voiced vocalisations of Roger King. This vocal addition gives the track a pleasant Native American/Middle-Eastern flavouring. And yet, as the title suggests, it transcends all that - it is the voice of just people releasing their innerself. It is the spirit that is in each of us, singing. The truth is that these are all beautiful pieces. Sometimes fragile and delicate like "The Unreachable Place (Again)," written in the same period as Dreamtime Return, but always rich. There's always more than just surface layers to Roach's work; you can't just listen to a piece and get it the first time through. Roach's music is meant to be absorbed, infused, surrendered to - only then can you find the "meaning," And, of course, those "meanings" can change each time - different impressions based on your own mindset. Which again gives Roach's music a timeless quality, it will always be "of the moment" as long as there are moments. "And happy melodist, unwearied, forever piping songs for ever new…" As you might expect, this comes highly recommended. Quoted lines are from John Keats' "Ode On A Grecian Urn" (1819) More about Truth And Beauty: Track Listing: Aftermath (9:11) / The Majestic Void (5:36) / Fall of the Moai (1:53) / Earthman (9:44) / Fate Awaits (4:22) / Beyond The Blood (5:15) / Before The Sacrifice (6:54) / The Unreachable Place (Again) (9:38) / The Unbroken Promise (7:51) / This And The Other (11:15) Musicians: Contact: Website: www.steveroach.com Discography
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