BREATHING THE STORM

Perhaps, honestly, its righter score should be "3 stars and an half", because as a post new-age album it represents the final part of their career. Actually this one was not the turning point, but rather a "memory tribute" to their career, close to the end of their musical adventure, and unfortunately also a sad tribute to the memory of Tony Duhig: their last release will be dated 1993 - "A Distant Echo" (despite of their improvement in the compositions. The title is truly deserved once again, above all if your regard the old good times!!)

- But coming back to "Breathing the Storm", featuring Jon Field along with other two musicians, it is not an unmistakable work, above all if you consider the tepid music construction of the keyboards backing. It's a sort of more complex new-age composition, the music being as defined as the old albums, yet being less versatile and with a few spare styles, unlike their best prog efforts!! Besides the music is less creative in comparison to albums such as "Floating World". Nevertheless, despite of such defects, their music starts recapturing the spirit of the period concerning the famous label Island: it's a relaxed approach, however any insightful fan can understand the new spirit and mood as well, concerning this totally different line-up.

Their new goal in fact is the attempt of reaching the catharsis of their several previous musical ideas, driven in a unique compact body. Well actually their old achievement, a successful combination of rock, classical music and "wrapping" Japanese melodic lines, by means also of an oriental atmosphere plus some exotic percussions and a gentle flute as well, was very appreciated by their fans,but remaining anyway confined within a marginal and isolated prog scene. For this reason the old albums did not deserve the attention to be awarded and regarded as the most famous bands of the 70's prog scene. The present album and also the following ones naturally are conditioned by such pieces of evidence.

Recommended, even though not essential !!

lack of creativity aside, this cd is beautiful. Granted it doesn't take as many chances as the 70s releases or touch as many genres (I recall blues rock, space rock, ethnic, new age being amoung the many genres they explored in the early 70s albums) , but for what its worth..a new age album, it is a great cd for spacing out and tops any other album in the new age genre as it is far more complex with well timed guitar passages and surreal easy going keyboards setting the over all tone. Yes only its only Jon as i Know have found out after listening to this album, but he is surrounded by good musicians.

Album released in 1992 "Breathing The Storm". The content is a graceful new age sound where even a transparent feeling drifts. The melody with a beautiful wind instrument echos through the mysterious fantasy world. Moreover, the jazz fusion taste is felt by me. It is momentarily near the symphonic rock. And, splendid power of expression of the John field of the wind instrument charge is noteworthy. It is a fine work.

Mainly instrumental, I never expected such a beautiful album with the tendency of new age music. I knew Jade Warrior with the first self-titled album and RELEASED, which focused more on psychedelia and space prog, with elements of folk rock. I've heard about the change through time to more relaxing music but never had the chance until now and so far what I have listened to, I have liked it. Breathing the Storm is a beautiful album of instrumental songs that invite you to dream of green landscapes and the wind whistling in the ocean on a cloudy rainy afternoon. Perhaps, the album is not so daring in progressive music but it's beautiful indeed and inspiring. I will keep on listening to Jade Warrior previous efforts to continue discovering the inflection point.

A few years after the entirely ambient anomaly, "At Peace", recorded at Tony Duhig's ill fated studio, JADE WARRIOR reformed with two new members, Colin Henson and Dave Sturt. Before they could begin recording, Duhig died suddenly. Shaken by the loss, the trio regrouped and created "Breathing the Storm", the first Duhig-less album in band history. While still a bit too comfortably soporific, it is nonetheless a huge improvement on "At Peace" .

Fields' flutes abound and the keyboards are neither tacky nor monotonous for the most part. A few moments even evoke the spirit of the the Island years, especially in "Gift of Wings". Elsewhere, as in "Memory of the Deep", a certain homage is paid to KITARO in the repetition of short colourful motifs that form an underlying rhythm of sorts, which is propitious because, while 2 members apparently contribute percussion, they may well have just brought them into the studio and neglected to set them up, or forgotten them entirely. Sturt contributes a robust fretless bass to a few cuts, which of course is worth half a star just on the face of it, but unfortunately it can't save the title cut from being an utterly banal expose on infinity. Both Field and Henson contribute guitars but they mostly act as a sign that reads "This isn't Patrick O'Hearn", got it? The only piece where I sense some authentic emotional transfer is "Asa no Kiri", which is ironic given its preponderance of high pitched synths, but then Kitaro himself excels in that realm as well.

Some reviews here and there on the web state that this is far and away superior to the new age music of its day but I suspect many who gained that impression spent a lot of time listening to Jade Warrior and very little listening to new age music, and who can blame them? Nonetheless, I'm here to tell you that "Breathing the Storm" is a slightly above average new age recording with an average new age title that, like many of its ilk, under-delivers on its promise. 2.5 stars.