Unwind Yourself Posted by Junior

Alice Coltrane: Journey In Satchidananda From: Journey In Satchidananda [Impulse!, 1971] Alice Coltrane: Turiya And Ramakrishna From: Ptah The El Daoud [Impulse!,1970] Life is hectic at the moment people, a job promotion and real world moves leaving less time than I'd like to cuddle up to my vinyl and whisper sweet nothings into its grooves. What better time then to take a moment out and relax and unwind with the audio equivalent of a spiritual and mental cleanse from Alice Coltrane. Coltrane's fourth solo album after the death of John, Journey in Satchidananda marks a high point in Alice's solo career and proves that she possessed a great musical talent herself. Inspired by the meeting with her guru Swami Satchidananda, Coltrane's playing is expansive and the compositions epic and sweeping in nature. The title track itself is probably my favourite of all of Alice's work, the combination of lush harp playing is offset by some brilliant work by Pharoah Sanders that prevents the music from ever entering the dreaded world of easy listening. This is gorgeous, timeless, music of the highest quality. Released a year earlier, Ptah The El Daoud offers hints of what's to come on Journey in... but is composed more as one continuous piece, the album's musical themes continuing from one track to the next. Turiya And Ramakrishna showcases Coltrane's piano skills to create a lilting piece that drifts in and out of focus with some excellent bass by Ron Carter carrying the track forward (Coltrane certainly knew how to compose a stellar line up for her albums). With the insanity going on in the world at the moment take a moment to listen to the pieces, relax your body, and unwind your mind, you won't regret it.