Rick's Isle of Man years during the so called New Age period saw him produce a number of excellent ambient soundscapes. This from 1990, sandwiched between his work with Yes on the excellent ABWH album of 1988 and the dreadful Union album of 1992, the work s typical of the genre with its lightly trickling acoustic guitar sound played over washes of synths. Occasionally, one or two the pieces where the guitar is mostly to the fore, such as in 'Musical Dreams' are comparable with Steve Hackett's lighter acoustic guitar arrangements on albums such as "Bay of Kings". The sonic palette is led over the various pieces by a number of different effects, the string-rich "When time stood still", the vibraphone like tone of "The Dove", or the Andean pipes in "Thoughts of Love" being prominent examples. At other times the sound is stripped back to a simple piano or guitar figure as in "Dewy Morn" or "Secret Moments".
Progressive rock or rock fans in general won't find much to whet their appetites of course but it does what it says on the tin. Soothing, atmospheric swells and washes along with crystalline harmonics to relax by.
Track Listing
1. Thoughts of love
2. Gentle breezes
3. Whispering cornfields
4. Peaceful beginnings
5. Dewy morn
6. Musical dreams
7. Distant thoughts
8. The dove
9. When time stood still
10. Secret moments
11. Peaceful
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