RALPH TOWNER — Blue Sun (review)

RALPH TOWNER — Blue Sun album cover Album · 1983 · Post-Fusion Contemporary Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
chris s
Blue Sun marked the beginning of the 1980's for Ralph Towner. All instruments played by the multi instrumentalist but the classical guitar and 12 strings having the most impact. The opener Blue Sun is a beautiful moody song where his guitar work perfectly depicts the sun in all it's glory. Towner always has an inept skill at replicating climate and seasonal atmospheres to his musical pieces. The follow up " The Prince and The Sage" is another highlight to the album where his instruments play off against one another perfectly to create a lovely song. " C.T. Kangaroo" has always perplexed me, maybe it is Ralph Towner just having a bit of fun but the song is largely a throw away piece yet with clever interplays. My personal favourite is " Wedding of the Streams" where he evokes a cacophany of streaming rivulets of water all babbling in harmony at once. A truly elvish sounding piece :-). " Rumours of Rain" the closer is a brooding, slow, dark song. I am not sure whether it is titled from the anti apartheid novelist Andre Brink's book of the same name. If so one can definitely associate and relate to the sombre mood of this length song. In summary a great album and almost a four star work but as this reviewer prefers to round down I am going to give this album a solid three and a half stars.

Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Jazz Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
A Love Supreme Post Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
Kind of Blue Cool Jazz
MILES DAVIS
Buy this album from our partners
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady Progressive Big Band
CHARLES MINGUS
Buy this album from our partners
Blue Train Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners
My Favorite Things Hard Bop
JOHN COLTRANE
Buy this album from our partners

New Jazz Artists

New Jazz Releases

Horizons Held Close Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TRANCE MAP (EVAN PARKER AND MATTHEW WRIGHT)
Buy this album from MMA partners
Puttin' On the Ritz Classic (1920s) Jazz
THE NEW WONDERS
Buy this album from MMA partners
異響同塵~Different echoes in the same dust~ Jazz Related Improv/Composition
TOSHI TSUCHITORI 土取利行
Buy this album from MMA partners
Brötzmann / Nilssen-Love : Butterfly Mushroom Avant-Garde Jazz
PETER BRÖTZMANN
Buy this album from MMA partners
Kranetude Jazz Related Improv/Composition
KATHARINA ERNST
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Jazz Online Videos

Puttin' On The Ritz
THE NEW WONDERS
js· 6 hours ago
Wet Weather Wet
THE WRONG OBJECT
js· 1 day ago
Michael Kiwanuka - Lowdown (parts i and ii)
MICHAEL KIWANUKA
js· 1 day ago
Who Needs You (Billie Holiday-Jeanne Burns) by Ineza with Alex Webb & The Copasetics
INEZA (INEZA KERSCHKAMP)
js· 2 days ago
Notbad
PEELA
js· 2 days ago
More videos

New JMA Jazz Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Jazz News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed