Arpeggio, if you please!
Reviewed by RJ Lannan on 2/25/2006 for the Sounding Board, New Age Reporter.com

If ever there is an album that represents change, well, here's the one. There are changes in the seasons and there are changes in our lives. This is the latter for this artist. Louis Landon surprises and utterly entertains on his debut album unwind . Here are twelve solo piano pieces that border on New Age/ Adult Contemporary instrumentals that are pensive and perfect for staring out the window on snowy winter days or breezy summer afternoons.

Unwind is a journey of transmutation for Louis as he plays hide and seek with life. Like the phases of the moon, he grows and wanes, shines and fades as his music develops and matures. Take for instance...

Slow, sweet and melancholy the opening tune My Brooke is a warm tribute to a loved one. This is a touching melody that had me humming along after the first two bars. At first I wondered who Brooke was, but without thinking I know why Louis loves her so. Brooke is his life and the music just makes it more obvious.

Freefalling , a thought provoking tune, is the background score for a dandelion seed floating on sun-warmed eddies. It is an extremely light tune that produces for the listener the musical notion of spiritual weightlessness. It is a real pick-me-up and quickly became one of my favorites on the album.

The song, Sea of Darkness is another of my favorites. The tune is memorable as it represents a miasma of uncertainty for the artist. Ultimately, the search for clarity is fruitful and the personal sin of self-doubt is left to linger on its own.

Majestic Sunrise is the raison d'etre for the album. From my view I can see the wispy white clouds wafting up from between the valleys just this side of English Mountain. The stars close their eyes as the sun paints colorful illuminations of pink and gold on the mountain side. This is the day wakes up for breakfast music. Majestic Sunrise is the perfect complement for this daily miracle.

The last title Childhood's End reminded me of an old Arthur C. Clarke story of the same name. The main theme is about-you guessed it, changes. As a father, the one thing I have learned and Landon emotes about is that there is a time when everything and everyone we hold dear changes. This is especially true of our children and our families. Hopefully, you're patient enough and you live long enough to realize that what you had turns out to be so much better. This one it is by far the best cut on the album and deserves a lot of replay.

Louis Landon has some powerful and poignant music here. His style is quite gentle and his compositions are emotion-filled vignettes of how life is and how it should be. There is music for romance, daydreams and yes, changes.

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