ROBERT FOX: Timeless (Best of Robert Fox 1991-2005) (2005)
Updated: Jul 20, 2022
“A very good compilation that can be listened from one end to the other...”
1 Thundering Water (Niagra) 3:49
2 Queen of Hearts 6:38
3 3 Sisters 4:40
4 FourSixZero 4:51
5 Over Turquoise Seas 6:21
6 Water Music 3:48
7 Heavens Gate 4:41
8 And All Shall be Well 4:36
9 Brother Earth 4:08
10 Angel 5:30
11 Half Heard in the Stillness 4:40
12 Somewhere Out There 5:25
13 White Man Dreaming 6:56
14 Moving On 3:40
15 Ascension 6:40
(CD/DDL 76:23) (V.F.)
(New Age EM Cinema)
I recently learned that Robert Fox had serious health problems. It's in the wake of this news that the label AD Music released a second compilation of his music entitled Timeless Vol 2 (Best of 2005-2022). But what could be better than to talk about his first compilation released in 2005 before talking about this one? TIMELESS (Best of Robert Fox 1991-2005) covers the period of Asfafa to Maya albums and shows the very eclectic style of the English musician who was inspired as much by literature as by his personal experiences and his numerous travels. I know very little about this period of the Newcastle musician that I discovered a bit later in his career with his album Touching the Serpents Tail which was released 2 years after Maya. No matter, the style has not changed much! Exceptional melodist, he proposes compositions which are well structured and supported by silky orchestrations and whose style can compete with the Miramar period of Tangerine Dream as well as Arista/EastWest one of Vangelis with a very Enigma side for the chants and the rhythmic orchestrations.
It's a cinematographic Babylonian overture that opens the splendid Thundering Water (Niagra). Orchestrations at the same time slow and jerky on symphonic drums rolls, the title slides towards a melodious texture which makes very Vangelis of the 1492 Conquest of Paradise time. Already chills come from our soul! Each track blends into the other in this TIMELESS (Best of Robert Fox 1991-2005), making us feel as if we are listening to a long lyrical story without words. Thus, Queen of Hearts has a strange percussive clock that structures a slow and bewitching rhythm. It sounds like blows on an anvil covered of a wood texture. The keyboard weaves a melody which is rolling over orchestrations that dance like leaves caught in swirling winds. Silky orchestral arrangements propel the flying rhythm of 3 Sisters which has a slight oriental feel with a nice melody tied on a romantic keyboard. Robert Fox adds vocals and organic effects for a dramatic finale. Over Turquoise Seas is of the same genre being more airy and less dramatic. The influence of Vangelis is noticeable in the compositional structure and the orchestrations. The splendid and very ethereal And All Shall be Well is a beautiful proof. What a great chills provider! In spite of his romantic sid