VOX

While vocals had been deployed as instruments in vintage ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER productions, and he did engage accomplished singers to impart thematic messages on "Eolian Minstrel" and in multiple languages on "Cosmopoly", "Vox" represents the harp players first headlong venture into lead vocals. He actually possesses a pleasant voice suited to his Renaissance gentleman persona and equally dolce musical style. Luckily he has written lyrics that harmoniously abut the music, because, even with all these boxes being ticked, this is one of his less exciting releases.

One could approach this from the opposite camp and assess that, given cheesy lyrics, relatively conventional or at least habitual arrangements, and diffident vocal style, subtracting out the ethnic fusion that somewhat elevated its immediate predecessors, it's a wonder that "Vox" isn't a total botch job, which it assuredly is not.

Vollenweider's earnest and understated manner works wonderfully on "these Hearts of Gold", "Home of Love", "Pilgrim" and "Ripples in the edge of time", as he intuits brilliantly what his fans might want from his own lips as opposed to second hand deliveries via ELIZA GILKYSON or CARLY SIMON.

Unfortunately, the rest just doesn't quite rise to the level of succinctness required in this genre, and much is stuck in cliches of the 1980s to which Vollenweider didn't even stoop in the heart of that decade. I'm thinking "Wake up and Dance", "Sons of Sisyphus" and "What if it wasn't a dream" in particular.

Though Vollenweider is to be commended for finally giving voice to these interests for the first time, he unfortunately didn't stick with it for the duration so "Vox" is the quintessential fan only release, though probably not for all fans.