Search - Acoustic Alchemy :: Against the Grain

The AA cd I reach for most often

Randy Q. Cron | Birmingham, AL USA | 09/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Driving home from early Sunday a.m. water polo practice in Bethesda, I clicked onto a DC radio station that was experimenting with NEW AGE music. Back in 1987, they only played it for a couple of hours each Sunday morning. This is when I first heard Acoustic Alchemy ("Mr. Chow"), and I have been hooked on their sound ever since.



I have all their recordings, and "Against the Grain" is my favorite. Not unlike a rabid Beatles fan, I used to buy their latest CD as soon as it was released. "Reference Point" and "Back on the Case" were so outstanding, I used to believe they will have a hard time topping these works and keeping up the creative momentum.



With "Against the Grain", they proved me wrong. I think I enjoy it the most because, not only did it break new ground for AA, but many of the songs could have easily been from earlier albums. For example, "A Different Kind of Freedom" would have fit nicely into "Blue Chip", and "Road Dogs" sounds as if it was borrowed from "Reference Point". "Lady Lynda" reminds me of those early Sunday mornings in the car back in Maryland.



Some of my favorite tunes on "Against the Grain" include beautiful piano blended in with the acoustic guitars. The title track begins with thunder, transitions to the keyboards, and is met by the dueling guitars. The song races forward with that distinctive AA tempo. "Papillon" also begins with ethereal piano fingerwork as an intro for the waiting guitars. Other great songs include the flamenco based "Lazeez", the march of "Nouveau Tango", and the synth heavy "Shoot the Loop".



Since "Against the Grain", AA has still produced some outstanding music, including tracks from "Positive Thinking" and "The Beautiful Game", but without Nick Webb, the focus of the music has changed. We are all fortunate that they had such a great run for over a decade.



By the way, they are great in concert. Their music is more energetic in person. My wife and I have enjoyed several of their shows in Seattle and in northern California; however, it is just not the same without Nick."

Excellent CD

David G. Schoellkopf | Texas | 12/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the 7th Acoustic Alchemy CD that I have purchased and it is possibly my favorite (it is a toss up between this one and Reference Point). I love the Latin beat in several of the songs and the entire CD is recorded exceptionally well. Beats todays overly compressed music by a mile."