Search - Travis Larson Band :: Burn Season

The gift that keeps on giving

Wayne Iba | Santa Barbara, CA | 08/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I cannot think of another CD I have purchased that both grabbed me immediately and continues to grow on me. Usually, if something grabs me right away, it becomes stale after 20 or 30 hearings. TLB's Burn Season continues to impress me more and more after nearly 100 plays. Every time I listen, this CD continues to surprise.



As others mention, this CD has a richer, more layered sound partly from the use of keyboards but I think also simply from the compositional depth. For me, it is slightly reminiscent of the best Yes music (not exactly in sound but in character). The blending of sounds, lines, rhythms, and chords creates something much greater than the sum of the parts.



While Burn Season contains some of my all-time favorite songs (Heads or Tails, Nevele, and Burn Season to name only three), I have to admit it contains two songs that don't quite seem to go with the others. Interestingly, those two songs -- People Get Ready and Seclusion With You -- are the collaborative efforts on this CD. I have nothing critical to say about the contributions from Lukather or Vinx, respectively; both are extremely well recorded and I especially like Vinx's voice. However, these two songs fail to deliver the same level of richness, depth, and life that almost all of TLB's catalog has in great abundance. With all that said, even these two songs are thoroughly enjoyable.



This is a delightful CD and even with the two somewhat out-of-place songs, I would be hard pressed to not include it in a 10-CD desert island collection."

A truly stellar work.

John Bartelt | L.A., CA USA | 10/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow.



Rather than repeat all of the true and wonderful compliments about the performing and engineering that have described this band's earlier releases, I'll note what's different this time: the textures on this album have more striking, mature, and varied changes within each song than anything they've released before, and that makes for even more fascinating and compelling listening than ever.



The listener quickly learns to anticipate something fresh and exciting and satisfying coming right around the next corner every minute or so, and that expectation is indeed delivered every time - not only from track to track, but within each piece, from beginning to end.



The performances are phenomenal - this is an amazing effort - but what stands out with this work as opposed to their previous albums are the ever-changing (and appropriately so) arrangements of their always-great compositions, and the incredibly effective use of the instruments (including more keyboards this time) as mood-making ambience. This is truly stellar work, and a great representation of the capabilities of these consummate artists. They are forging a new direction in music, and it's well worth the ride.

"