Track Listings (11) - Disc #1| All Artists: David Arkenstone Title: Sketches From an American Journey Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: Paras Recording Original Release Date: 1/1/2002 Re-Release Date: 6/25/2002 Genres: New Age, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks Styles: Meditation, Adult Contemporary, Adult Alternative, Progressive, Electronic Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 650113112529 |
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Search - David Arkenstone :: Sketches From an American Journey
 | David Arkenstone Sketches From an American Journey Genres: New Age, Pop, Rock, Soundtracks
David Arkenstone's 15th career album is the most instantly likable package the multi-instrumentalist has assembled since 1991's Grammy-nominated In the Wake of the Wind. There's a near-total emphasis on straightforward mel... more » |
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Amazon.com David Arkenstone's 15th career album is the most instantly likable package the multi-instrumentalist has assembled since 1991's Grammy-nominated In the Wake of the Wind. There's a near-total emphasis on straightforward melodies and traditional song structure, while scene-setting mood pieces and soundtracklike vignettes are mostly sidestepped. The outcome is highly rewarding. The disc's feel-good opening track, "New Day," is a sunny melodic charmer, one of Arkenstone's best tunes ever--so engaging that it leaves you sighing when the notes begin to fade. (If you're a fan of Michael Gettel, this track is your cup of tea.) Arkenstone, principally playing keyboards, guitar, and pennywhistle, designs other gems as well in this valentine to American landscapes, notably "Voices of a New Land," a more traditional Arkenstone blend of atmosphere and rhythm, and "Full Sail," a sweetly propulsive reminiscence of a day on the ocean, nicely augmented by members of the Utah Symphony. Guitarist Marc Antoine lends a guest solo to the appropriately named "Sunset Highway." It may be less an "experience" than a smooth-pop recording (yes, saxophone surfaces on a number of tracks), but Arkenstone's facility with melody makes American Journey a trip well worth taking. --Terry Wood Similarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsEntertaining, but a bit disappointing Christian Wheeler | St. Louis | 07/16/2002 (3 out of 5 stars) "This could have been so much better. The American landscape, all of its beautiful vistas and wondrous cultures--it seemed like a perfect project for Arkenstone, whose evocative portraits of times and places--both real and imagined--have made him one of instrumental music's best composers over the past decade and a half. This is a nicely done set, but it comes frustratingly close to being great. It resembles in tone and structure Arkenstone's "Citizen of the World" and "Spirit Wind," in that it is mostly sedentary slices of music punctuated by the occasional stirring anthem. Now, I didn't care for either of those efforts, but their fans may like this more than I do. I care more for his adventurous works, like "In the Wake of the Wind," "The Return of the Guardians," "Caravan of Light," and the Middle Earth album (which proves that Arkenstone would have been a great choice to compose the music for the trilogy). There ARE some good moments on "Sketches," tracks so well-done that they almost make up for the others. "New Day," the opening piece, has a nice, optimistic feel; "Full Sail" evokes some of the sweeping instrumentals Arkenstone does so well ("The Field of Cormallen" from the Middle Earth set comes to mind); and the dynamic "The American Journey," guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. I do have to admit that even the tracks I didn't care for were at least nicely composed; they just didn't inspire me as the aforementioned pieces did. As a whole, "Sketches" also reminds me of Michael Gettel's "Skywatching" and some of the works of David Lanz and Tingstad & Rumbel, plus a touch of Tim Janis. If you like David's more sedentary works, you may receive this better than I. If you enjoy his "adventurous" works more, then you may want to skip it." Arkenstone Becomes Yanni David F. Mamrak | Pennsylvania | 07/01/2002 (1 out of 5 stars) "The last few discs by David Arkenstone have been a let-down. Working with his wife Diane, he has watered down his music to the point of sounding like Yanni. The first song of this disc, "New Day" is the only keeper of the bunch. I can hear Arkenstone repeating phrases from his old music. This is a real disappointment considering he was once one of my favorite artists in this genre." New age / jazz...but still Arkenstone Jesse Gordon | United States | 06/13/2003 (4 out of 5 stars) "I came into the whole Arkenstone scene with "Return of the Guardians," which was (arguably) the final and most effective installment of David's adventurous "trilogy" phase. Subsequent albums have proven to be lighter, more casual, and more contemporary - an interesting shift for die-hard fans of David's early works.However, I think as an artist one must try on different outfits from time to time. Sketches successfully demonstrates David's ability to craft radio-friendly (new age jazz?) songs that might appeal to the more casual listener. I'd say something similar happened with "Another Star in the Sky," which got a lot of radio play, and which probably piqued the listening ears of many budding Arkenstone fans."Sunset Highway" and "Pacific Rain" are, in my opinion, the finest tracks on this album, and demonstrate David's contemporary skills quite nicely. There are even a few cinematic moments throughout, such as on "Surrounded by Beauty."His sound has changed gradually these past few years, but beneath it all, it's definitely still David Arkenstone at the helm."
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