BEHIND THE GARDENS - BEHIND THE WALL - UNDER THE TREE

This is the first commercially- and internationally successful album from the Swiss electric harpist who pioneered the crossover between smooth jazz and New Age music. This is the album that I first got to know and love Andreas' work and it remains my all-time favorite work of his. Having seen Andreas in concert twice in those early years, I came away with continued awe for the diverse skills of jack-of-all-trades side-man Pedro Haldemann.

1. "Behind the Gardens-Behind the Wall-Under the Tree" (7:19) (14/15)

2."Pyramid-In the Wood-In the Bright Light" (7:52) That bass! The space! The tempo changes! The coda that bridges all of the sections together! Heart-wrenching perfection! No wonder this remains a concert pleaser to this day. (15/15)

3."Micro-Macro" (2:49) (8.75/10)

4."Skin and Skin" (3:22) great chord play followed by more of those amazing bass lines. Pedro's mouth accordion adds so much! And then it starts to swing in the final minute! Awesome! (9.5/10)

5."Moonlight, Wrapped Around Us" (1:03) some real (if distant-sounding) accordion! A perfect interlude! (4.5/5)

6."Lion and Sheep" (2:56) the greatest little melody on the album! With great support from the African-sounding percussion instruments and the bass line. (9.25/10)

7."Sunday" (1:57) yet another great song form providing a happy, animated bridge to the album's outro (4.75/5)

8."Afternoon" (0:47) the thundershower sounds leading to the album's finale.

9."Hands and Clouds" (2:24) a gentle, almost Calypso melody from solo electric harp to send us on our way. (4.75/5)

Total length: 30:29

As I always thought that this album played pretty much as one continuous multi-part suite, I was never so happy as when it was released on CD.

A/five stars; a masterpiece of (at the time) fresh jazz-tinged New Age electronic music and a landmark album in the development of electronic and New Age music.