Review and More

Our Review

If you are looking for a complex and wondrous variety of piano arrangements to soothe your soul come day's end during what is, by all accounts, the most wondrous and complex but least soothing of seasons, then you couldn't find a holiday CD to do the job as well as Pianoël. Actually two CDs, Pianoël, Volumes 1 and 2, offers a classy respite from the hustle and bustle.

Each of these thirty-one tracks contains its own unique flavor. There's Eric Daub or Hemisphere for a smooth jazz flavor; Christopher Peacock and Gene Nery synergize tangy collaborations of ethereal contemporary piano and guitar; Richard Palalay plays tasteful, textured, traditional instrumental arrangements. Categorizing and classifying is my job, but the many arrangements on these two discs defy easy classification. I am struck more by the moody, soulful stylings of these artists than I am by the particular genres into which their songs might fit.

I was particularly fond of Peacock and Nery's Carol of the Bells on Volume 1, which I thought was the most emotionally stirring (and most "new age") piece. I also liked Daub's moody and almost melancholy Carol of the Birds, a selection I'd listen to all year long. On Volume 2, Hemisphere presents a dramatic reading of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, Palalay a classy The Christmas Song, and Peacock and Nery a joyfully syncopated Good King Wenceslas.

Piano is the featured instrument on these CDs. Tastefully presented in thirty-one delicious flavors.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2000)

No More

Various Artists

Pianoel,
Volume 1

Artist link

Track List