Time Traveller - "Chapter 3 & 4" Review

Artist/ Band: Time Traveller
Title: Chapter 3 & 4
Label: Presence Records
Year of Release: 2011
Offical Artist/ Band Link

The Review:

This Finnish all instrumental band (some voice samples) composes music that ranges from bands like Happy The Man, Yes, Mandalaband, Gong, Montrose, bad 80's arena rock, and just sad rock riffs, with all sorts of ingredients including Gregorian chant, jazz fusion, rock, jam, and the entire back catalog of 70's rock n’ roll. Upon initial listen of the CD, you can never predict where the next minute will go. That’s a good thing at first. Then 2nd and 3rd listens, you grow tired of the music because it just doesn’t hold interest. It also has no originality of it’s own. You’d think it would, with all the tidbits it throws in from minute to minute, but somehow, on the whole, after you listen once, it never has anything else to offer. That’s a shame, as I felt the time and energy it took to make this recording was tremendous. The musicianship is excellent as well. For me, it is so disconnected much of the time. As if they cut and paste a horde of ideas for songs and sound together, all in some odd way, to entice the listener, but then to only perform medium to okay compositions in the end. Let me also say, there are some brilliant moments here. The pain is, that you have to listen to so many avenues to get to those killer seconds of music.

All through the years, if you are old enough to have listened to the multi-thousands of recordings I have, you find hundreds of jewels, hundreds of good ones, and always a good deal of duds, and then some like this one, that have excellent musicians, and good ideas, but just didn’t put it all together in a good fashion. I feel bad to give this a low ranking, because I clearly hear the fine skill of the artists on the discs, (and I heard their first release of “Chapters I & II” as well, and it had the same exact troubles), and the attempt they were trying to bring so many styles together as a whole listening experience. The thing is, the many dozens of styles they bring in all in a frenetic way, just does not work and is far from an easy listen. Not because it is complex in a RIO way, but because it is disjointed, and discombobulated at best. I have so many recordings from all over the world that combine many styles, and succeed, but Time Traveller need to rethink their formula. Great musicians though!!

There are some fine moments, and it’s not a total waste, but sometimes a great idea, is just not a great result. I regret to say this is one of those. I wish the future releases of these musicians much better success. I think a refocus is in order. Hats off to the hard work of all the musicians involved.

Reviewed by Lee Henderson on September 30th, 2011

Tracks:

01. Entrance

02. Reality Strikes

03. The Black Hole

04. Inner Peace

05. Mind Wide Open

06. Inner Peace (Reprise)

07. Code 6360025

08. Space Harvest

09. Katos

10. The Last Wave