Spirits Burning US review

Spirits Burning & Clearlight - 'The Roadmap In Your Head'

http://annecarlini.com/ex_cd.php?id=2151

Title - 'The Roadmap In Your Head' Artist - Spirits Burning & Clearlight For those not in the know, and taking them one at a time, Spirits Burning is a musical collective that has released a combination of ambient, jazz and full-on space rock with input from many of the genre's luminaries; most notably Gong's Daevid Allen (who sadly passed away in 2015) and members of Hawkwind. Overseen by American composer/producer Don Falcone, both he and Cyrille "Clearlight" Verdeaux of Clearlight have collaborated in Spirits Burning (under the name Spirits Burning & Clearlight). Which leads me perfectly into Clearlight, an instrumental stoner rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are also known as The Mystick Krewe of Clearlight due to other bands using the same original name. The Roadmap In Your Head is the 13th studio album from the Spirits Burning space rock collective, and the second to feature the aforementioned keyboardist Cyrille "Clearlight" Verdeaux. Roadmap also has a very strong Gong presence, as it includes performances by four musicians from Gong's Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy (Daevid Allen, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett, Didier Malherbe), and four members of the current Gong (Ian East, Fabio Golfetti, Dave Sturt, Kavus Torabi). The Roadmap In Your Head is a 14 step musical journey that from start to finish ensues once you undertake its musical journey, you will never come out the other side quite feeling the same as when you went in. Released this past November 4th, 2016 on Gonzo Multimedia, the album, as you would indeed fully expect, is a labyrinth of ambient, jazz and full-on space-rock with input from many of the genre's luminaries. 1. The Roadmap In Your Head (3:56) 2. Sun Sculptor & The Electrobilities (3:50) 3. The Birth Of Belief (8:38) 4. Coffee For Coltrane (6:58) 5. Isolation In 10 80 (2:55) 6. Mrs. Noonness (4:12) 7. The Old College Sky Is Where We Left It (1:28) 8. Fuel For The Gods (13:05) 9. Early Evening Rain (3:31) 10. Black Squirrel At The Root Of The Staircase (7:34) 11. Outsiders Parachute In (5:48) 12. Déjà Vu (2:25) 13. La Rue Inconnue (4:48) 14. Roadmaps (The Other Way) (5:59) This truly wonderful, expertly created, beautifully sculptured new album begins with a sense of the Middle East as we open upon the title track of the album. It's not much later that we're knee deep into the second longest track, "The Birth Of Belief", a work of art that wafts you along on an electric jazz journey. Guitar solos are aplenty here also, especially within both "Coffee For Coltrane" and "Mrs. Noonness", but for me, personally, it's the expertly crafted depths of the 13 minute long "Fuel For The Gods" that is the real cherry on the fusion cake here. Tracks like "Isolation In 10 80", "The Old College Sky Is Where We Left It" and "Déjà Vu" are quick instrumental stepping stones to the meatier recordings, made to sooth your soul as you pass through the album. The album comes to a close with the nearly 8 minutes long jazz fusion beauty "Black Squirrel At The Root Of The Staircase", the intuitive "La Rue Inconnue", and closes with "Roadmaps (The Other Way)"; a song written and sung by the late Gong legend, Daevid Allen. Here on Roadmap, putting the sonic avenues together there are no less that thirty-five amazing musicians and that's inclusive of not only the beloved members of the Gong global family, but some very special newbies also. Paul Booth (Steve Winwood), Theo Travis (David Gilmour), Judy Dyble, and Jonathan Segel from Camper Van Beethoven. Returning are Hawkwind family members Steve Bemand, Nik Turner, and Bridget Wishart, plus Albert Bouchard (BÖC). www.SpiritsBurning.com www.facebook.com/spiritsburning CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO The Roadmap In Your Head CD - £9.99 Healthy Music in Large Doses CD - £7.99