Word: pianos
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...Tomorrow's World" turns into "Me and You (Against the World)," a terrific horn-driven rocker that ends each verse with a dizzily assymetric tag line. Flawless, and followed by "Down to London," which would also be perfect except for the eerie similarity between its Latin American piano figure and that of Carlos Santana's "Evil Ways." This becomes a tragic flaw; the combination of tamborine, piano, and Motown harmonica, which would otherwise be irresistable, is undercut by one's idle speculation as to how Jackson's lawyer will deal with the imminent plagiarism suit...
Remember David Eggar's name, because we know you will be hearing it again. What we don't know is whether it will be for playing the cello or the piano. A national prizewinner in both instruments, Eggar has also sung in 500 performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York...
...dominant instruments on Switchback are piano, played by Cossu, himself, and both acoustic and electric guitar, played by Van Manakas. The first piece on the album, "Desert Lightning," gives a good show of the talents of both musicians. The piece is an upbeat mix of piano, acoustic guitar, bass, flute and percussion instruments. Its tones are high and non-jarring, and the piano and guitar, while usually mixing in or keeping the rhythm in the background, are strong...
...title track brings a Latin beat and jazz tempo to the album. It is similar to "Desert Lightning" in its harmonies and upbeat manner; however, the solos, particularly the flute solo, are more original and effective. Flutist Dave Valentin follows the piano solo and repeats its initial phrases; when he begins to improvise he creates a jazz sound that is not just relaxing background noise--it makes one want to listen to the musical combinations...
...which, because of Manakas' electric guitar influence, sounds at times like Dire Straits' "Making Movies." While a great deal of the piece is marked by a rolling placidity, Manakas' guitar solos make "Serpentine Wall" catchy and memorable. "Infinite Circles" follows "Serpentine Wall" with a completely different sound marked by piano and cello. Cossu and cellist Eugene Friesen, who played on the Windham Hill release, New Friend, often mimic each other in a raindrop pattern and also present some haunting harmonies...