Review of CIRCIO’S RAPTURE (CR-01) by wordking 08/01/2007:

	Who is Circio? Or, is it the group Circio’s Rapture? And why would he or they be so elated? Let it be known that I don’t have any answers to these questions but I will certainly try to provide some feedback about the content of this CD. Is it music? Muzak? Noise? I’ll leave it up to you to decide. After all, it’s all about whatever pleases the ear hole, is it not?

	Released in 2001, by Terry Kempler (a.k.a. Circio?), Circio’s Rapture is the debut CD described as “electronic explorations of musical vibrations.” Huh? Any association between the word “musical” and the actual tracks on this CD is, in my opinion, purely accidental. The disc opens with “Obelisk” (4:15), a track consisting of repetitive electronic patterns, dominated by a thumping back beat from start to finish, and includes a minor attempt at a melody line somewhere in  the middle. This is certainly a track that will most likely appeal to the modern dance crowd but may grab the discerning ear. Reminds me of something from the soundtrack of Giorgio Moroder’s American Gigolo.

	Track two, “Electron Therapy” (4:09), catches your attention right away with a Philip Glass-ish keyboard intro. But that’s about the extent of it. Best described as Pink Floyd meets Frankie Goes to Hollywood, I was crying “enough already” after a minute into this selection.

	As far as the next track is concerned, “Random Oscillations > Cubical Retreat”, the less said the better. Approximately six and a half minutes long, the only saving grace is the surprise electric guitar break about midway to the conclusion. I might have enjoyed this more if the build up to the guitar was eliminated. But then it wouldn’t be Circio then would it?

	I’m at the halfway point of the CD review with three tracks remaining and Boxcar Willie’s Greatest Hits is starting to sound pretty good right about now. Anybody for Engelbert Humperdinck?

	Track four, “Ion Dance”, gets my vote for the perfect strobe-light-flickering-freak-out-party-music track I’ve heard recently. If you can sit through the nearly nine minutes of this track without losing a few brain cells in the process then you might want to consider using this track for your next dance marathon contest. After getting Circio’s permission first, of course.

	If there’s any bright spot on this CD for me it would have to be the next track, “Kinetic High” (9:57). Whenever I hear this track I picture myself stretching my deltoids, tightening my abdominal's, running in place, sweating the pounds away. Yes, I’m in a “Pump It Up” video and tennis eye-candy Maria Sharapova is my instructor! It may give many listeners a headache that’s for sure but give Circio credit for daring to explore some uncharted territory.

	The final track, “Hot Shot Turbo” (8:57), sounds like Circio’s version of an electronic “Monster Mash” with Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman duke-ing it out while bizarre sound effects test your audio acuity. I thought there was something wrong with my stereo, speakers, etc. 

	In conclusion, the sheer repetitiveness of the final three electronic musical soundscapes (i.e. they are also the three longest tracks!) alone was enough for me to hope and pray there were no hidden tracks to struggle through on this disc. My hopes and prayers were answered. Yet, despite my obvious reservations to jump on the Circio bandwagon and champion this as the best CD I’ve ever heard, there are many interesting surprises and nuances in the first class production values of this to qualify it as “an oasis in the desert sea of commercial musical humdrum” emanating from your AM/FM/XM radio station today.
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Ouch!  This CD hurts my subconscious.  But that's good.
Electronic music can be very boring, but this CD penetrates with pin point accuracy.  Recommended for electronic people, and for you ordinary folk, take a walk on the shock side and buy this CD.
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