MYSTICAL ADVENTURES

I must admit I was really surprised to see this album with the exact same rating as "Enigmatic Ocean" which Ponty released four years earlier. Of course my rating is going to drop this down but in my opinion "Mystical Adventures" isn't even close to being as good as "Enigmatic Ocean", although even on the RYM site they have them close in ratings. I'm in agreement with the Gnosis site though which has this rated significantly lower than what most feel is Ponty's best album. Yes i've played this longer than normal wondering if it would eventually click with me but I just don't enjoy this a whole lot.

Things start off really well though with "Mystical Adventures Pt. 1" where we get a surprising electronic vibe going on while the violin eventually comes in over top in a relaxed manner. My favourite track right here. I just really enjoy the vibe here. A deep atmosphere is added before 3 minutes which is excellent. "Mystical Adventures Pt. 2" is laid back and enjoyable. They kick it up a notch a minute in with drums and violin being added. The violin becomes prominant then we get some marching styled drums later. "Mystical Adventures Pt. 3" opens with drums and violin then it builds. A good groove arrives around a minute then the guitar starts to solo over top. This is my favourite part of the album just not my favourite track overall. Love the guitar though. "Mystical Adventures Pt. 4" is less than a minute long but it's quite dreamy and relaxing. "Mystical Adventures Pt. 5" continues with some atmosphere and I like it. Keyboards and deep sounds help out. The violin after 2 minutes doesn't do a lot for me though and this will continue the rest of the way.

"Rhythms Of Hope" is more uptempo but i'm not liking it at all as the violin plays over top. Some nice bass here though from non other than Randy(Dog) Jackson the American Idol judge. "As" opens with what sounds like synths pulsating then it picks up with violin and what sounds like processed vocals. It's okay. "Final Truth Pt. 1" is more of the same really but I do like it. Lots of piano before 2 minutes and the bass is prominant as the violin will come and go on this one. "Final Truth Pt. 2" is much shorter than part one at just over 2 minutes and we get what sounds like pulsating synths here as the violin joins in. I like the drum work after a minute. Good tune as it's more dynamic than most of the other tracks. "Jig" ends the album as we get some uptempo violin over the percussion. It does get fuller. Again i'm not big on the violin that settles in after a minute.

Sorry to all the fans of this one but i'm just that into this. Sure there's no Allan Holdsworth on guitar or Steve Smith on drums like on "Enigmatic Ocean" but that's not the problem for me, I just find this uninspired, especially the constant violin playing what sounds like the same melody throughout.