This whole album sounds like a fever-dream odyssey into exotic tropical landscapes, thanks to Eno's echoed, spacious production of Hassell's electronically treated, Malaysian-influenced, eerily breathy trumpet melodies. But the most dreamlike piece of all, Charm, fills the entire long second side of this album (back when it was a record). Nana Vasconcelos and Ayibe Dieng play unhectic, seemingly repetitious yet subtly shifting rhythms on ghatam and gongas. Atop this, Hassell spins long raga-like trumpet improvisations - and a simple synthesizer loop floats past now and then, like a cloud. Since Hassell really knows his stuff, he's not just noodling around: the melody builds to powerful climaxes, then subsides, then builds up again....
baez@math.removethis.ucr.andthis.edu
© 2005 John Baez