TALES: Echoes from the Last Fairyland

tal-eftlf.jpg (21k) TALES: Echoes from the Last Fairyland
(Somewhere in Time Records - 2000)

Jean-Luc Hervé Berthelot tells his mythical TALES of Merlinian lore with pristine synth creations summoning visions of the Echoes from the Last Fairyland. These eight pieces of keyboarding magic comprise the second chapter of a Merlin Trilogy...

Awaking upon The breath of Merlin, part 1, a shimmering land of synthesized enchantment is gradually opened... lovely without being too cloying. Effervescent atmopsheres are eventually topped with gentle ivory-tinkling. Deep drones laced with brightly roiling synths stir the Elves of the golden clouds (10:11); dazzling abstractions hover amongst radiant strands and lightly rhythmic percolations. Murky, unintelligible voices drag the piece back down to earth, then the appealingly slurred breezes of lighter-than-air wind instruments raise it again. The whispery, distorted evil-sounding voices of The Wizard of all times overpower and detract from the eerie, mutating backdrop.

The perfect wand emits gorgeous wafts of cumulous synthtones, decorated with sparkling adornments and faraway electro-choirs. Plinky notes swirl around The right formula (in search of)... I'd suspect computerized sequencing, but the liner notes tell me that all loops are performed in real-time with a digital delay line... Closing on the short sweetness of Heteroclite keyboards (excerpt) (1:54), traipsing piano notes encircle each other in a lilting, multilayered round.

Though occasionally fraught with danger, these adept elfin adventures tend to stay on the safe side of the enchanted realm... for nearly one hour, beauty abounds in Echoes from the Last Fairyland albeit of a sometimes-new-agey manner. Plenty of obtuse beauty though should please most readers of these pages... an 8.2 to Berthelot's skillful tale-telling.

The official TALES website will reveal all...

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This review posted December 30, 2000

AmbiEntrance © 2000-1997 by David J Opdyke (except CD cover art, rights retained by original owners).