Saturday, February 24, 2024

Composure - Best of Composure

BEST OF COMPOSURE

Composure
(a.k.a. William [Bill] McGee)
Composure Music
2003

Sweeping and dramatic, Sleeping Dragon opens the 12-set Best of Composure, as Bill McGee shares some of his unique and fascinating musical compositions—an eclectic mix of electronic, symphonic, cinematic, and pop.

Whether you're looking for something restful or energizing, imaginative or concrete, you're sure to find it on this album.

With the sounds of outer space, Point of Imagination touches the inner soul, while Waterfalls of Heaven offers an Asian mood suitable for massage and relaxation. Follow this with a safari through a South American jungle in Without Words as strange creatures call and chatter from the depths of the foliage. Exciting and rhythmically energetic, the driving sounds of The Heart of Karma generate trance dance music for seven minutes before fading into the emotional Falling Skies and Sometimes Never, both tunes reminiscent of some of Yanni's synthesizer work, but still retaining Bill's own unique style. Sahara's Touch lets us sail across a rippling electronic sandy sea of sound, enhanced by frenetic African drums. Electric drops sprinkle throughout The Day Wouldn't Rain as an ambient melody sweeps us along to Closer.

In all, the music is very reminiscent of Paul Beaver and Bernard Krause's Electronic Funk, and for me, a delightful re-introduction to the electronic genre of New Age music.

I'm always interested in hearing some of the original music being composed and performed in New Age circles these days, as composers unite mind and media to create imaginative music that takes us to new worlds, both within the soul and beyond the universe. Bill is one such composer, and I'm sure we'll hear more and more of his work as the future unfolds.

TRACKLIST:
1. Sleeping Dragon
2. Point of Imagination
3. Voices
4. Waterfalls of Heaven
5. Without Words
6. The Heart of Karma
7. Falling Skies
8. Sometimes Never
9. Sahara's Touch
10. Just a Kiss
11. The Day Wouldn't Rain
12. Closer