The Late Train Home by Ed Blumenthal
Album review by Dyan Garris for Zone Music Reporter and NewAgeCD.com
“Warm and intimate, ‘The Late Train Home’ is a thoughtful, evocative, album that soothes the soul, relaxes the psyche, and gives us pause for deeper reflection upon our journey.”
There are so many windows in life. What we see (or hear) depends upon where we are sitting or where we are looking. Are we looking in or are we looking out? Are we seeing a reflection? A mirror into eternity? Or perhaps we are simply contemplating our journey.
“The Late Train Home” is the solo piano debut of Ed Blumenthal. Ed is a chiropractor, composer, and mostly self-taught pianist. This thoughtful, evocative album is ten heartfelt, relaxing, well-composed tracks that soothe the soul, relax the psyche, and give us pause for deeper reflection upon our journey. The album has a warm, intimate, authentic feel throughout.
Co-produced by Will Ackerman and Tom Eaton, and mixed and mastered by Tom Eaton, the album was recorded at Will’s legendary recording studio, Imaginary Road Studios. And here we also have a talented group of guest musicians woven into the mix as well. Charlie Bisharat performs on violin, Eugene Friesen on cello, and we also have the distinctive English horn of Jill Haley. Too, we have beautiful, ethereal, wordless vocals from Noah Wilding, masterfully mixed in, as well as Premik Russell Tubbs on EWI wind synth. Tom Eaton performs on NS bass and rounding out the mix is Will Ackerman on acoustic guitar on a few of the tracks.
So yes, it’s good. It’s really good. But there are some very interesting elements in here to note. The first is that if you read the song titles in order, they form a theme or “story” that goes something like this: Who knows the roads imagined? We walk on. The hands we hold along the way. . .The late train home. Always waiting. Until then, the sea sings for us.
“The sea sings for us” is particularly interesting because the song, track 9, “The Sea Sings,” is an improvised piano accompaniment with a recording from a man-made architectural wonder in Zadar, Croatia, called The Zadar Sea Organ. The Sea Organ is a series of marble steps merging the coastal land with the ocean. Underneath is a network of tubes that produce harmonic tones as the sea water does its timeless dance of ebb and flow. Done in one take, this is a beautiful, mesmerizing, unique song. It is quite special, as is the whole album.
The album opens with the very pretty “Who Knows.” Expressive and emotionally evocative, with piano, cello, and English horn all nicely wrapped in each other’s arms, this is 6 minutes long, setting the tone for all that follows. The equally pretty, “The Roads Imagined” follows with piano and EWI wind synth dancing elegantly together. “We Walk On” features soothing, wordless vocals, along with English horn, piano, and rich cello. “The Hands We Hold” is a harmonious blend of piano and English horn.
The flowing “Along The Way” brings us further along into the journey. This is a favorite on the album. The violin and piano together are superb. The title track, “The Late Train Home,” is rich and delicious, perfectly capturing the feelings of traveling on the train of life. It’s contemplative and reflective. Another favorite is “Always Waiting,” with sweet violin, cello, voice, and Will Ackerman’s guitar all adding luscious layers to this super-relaxing piece. It’s truly beautiful. The EWI wind synth and piano are the perfect couple in “Until Then.” I really love these two instruments together. Premik Russell Tubbs is a master of this instrument. This is harmonious, melodic, wistful and very nicely composed.
The album closes out with the very beautiful “For Us.” This has a heavenly quality with Ackerman’s guitar sounding almost harp-like, Tom Eaton’s NS bass adding texture, and the ethereal vocals floating in and out of the dream. You can feel your stress melting away as you completely zone out. Very nicely done.
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Get “The Late Train Home” here at the artist’s official website: https://www.edblumenthal.com/ and stream/download online wherever music is sold.
Broadcast and Media Promotion:
LAZZ Promotions, Ed and Stacey Bonk
Voice: 905-470-1230
E-mail: [email protected]
More album reviews by Dyan Garris at Zone Music Reporter: http://zonemusicreporter.com and New Age CD: https://www.newagecd.com
