* artfully crafted musical journey simonsammut * Simon Sammut – Crossing

* artfully crafted musical journey simonsammut * Simon Sammut – CROSSING:  I had to take an extra couple of days before sitting down to write my thoughts on Simon’s thoroughly engaging and beautiful sonic journey… he used the artwork of Anthony Catania to create aural visions we all MUST hear in these strange and dangerous days… tales of “crossing” boundaries hitherto considered too dangerous to even approach, and as you listen to songs like the 4:24 “Be the Change“, your emotions will be stirred to the boiling point; I realize that might sound like a negative statement, but it’s not, because as the song implies, awareness and involvement are the keys to changing the world to be what we all want it to become – and the greater part of making that happen is to use the power we’ve been given to transcend any boundaries the petty politicians and other demagogues try to impose.  This is one of the most POWERFUL songs of the 21st Century (and I say that having listened to many, MANY songs that were full of inspiration to change)… the best way for you witness this power is to watch the YouTube video below (and I can almost guarantee that after you listen to it once, you’ll keep coming back again & again):


The CD comes with a booklet containing the artwork that inspired each tune, and a full description of how the tune came to be, based on the painting… a wonderful example of that is “Promothean Man“, in which both the visual and sonic palettes encourage us to use our abilities to create technology that improves our status (with the risks always in mind, of course)…. the piece has strong bass lines and flowing washes that help the song build power in waves that are very pleasing to listen to!

Simon used a large group of players to bring his visions to life… the list is too long to itemize here, though, so visit the Simon Sammut website to view it, please. The group is able to project power in many different styles, as well… you’ll surely want to get the album as soon as you listen to their most modern explorations of the adventurer Don Quixote, on “Fifty Something“… this gets just DOWN-right funky, folks… I couldn’t help myself… I was dancin’ all around my writing room (with my headphones on, of course, lol)… the trumpet leads on this track are killer, too.

The song (and the narrative that accompany it) that won my vote for personal favorite of the dozen offered up on the album is “Frontier“, which (for me, anyway) gives hope to the idea that crossing new boundaries on a daily basis is what will make us all better people in the long run!  I give Simon and his high-talent crew a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of (a perfect) 5.00 – meaning that it also gets my “PICK” for “best visionary album”.   Visit Simon’s site to get more information.

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