“Atlantis Lost” is the second release in the “Trilogy of Light” series, and is made up of music pianist Eric McCarl composed twenty years ago. He had left a lucrative job in the computer industry to devote all of his energy and time to composing this music. In the liner notes, McCarl writes, “Atlantis Lost represents a great leap of faith, and maybe more so, my personal conversations with God at a time when everyone around me told me that my beliefs were unjustified.” Overall, the music has a sense of very deep inner exploration and reflection. While much of it is rather dark and pensive, there is always a sense of hope. McCarl’s style is difficult to categorize - a good thing, I think, in this cookie-cutter world. There are jazz and classical influences as well as new age, but it’s not really any of the above. As a youth, McCarl studied many different musical instruments as well as the piano, and that experience shows in his musicianship. All fifteen tracks are solo piano, and the piano sound itself is gorgeous. This music begs to be listened to carefully and thoughtfully, and weaves a story that deserves to be heard. It isn’t dinner party background music. Structured enough to feel composed, and yet improvisational enough to feel free and spontaneous, McCarl does an exceptionally good job of making both approaches work together.

The first three tracks are on the upbeat side. “The Runner” is full of energy, and makes it easy to visualize someone running on a beautiful island. “City of Light” is almost carefree - warm and contented. The title track is more tragic. Very open and improvisational, it conveys a deep sense of loss and questioning. An affecting piece, this seems to be McCarl at his most soul-bearing. “Victoria” is a quiet beauty - melancholy and searching. “Silhouette in Red” is a favorite. Built on a very spare melody line that wanders throughout the piece, there are some jazz and even some blues touches. “No More Tears” is reflective and bittersweet. The darkly mysterious “Symphonique” and “Tell Me Why” are also  favorites. 

Eric McCarl’s is a unique and promising voice in the world of solo piano. With his message of peace and hope while at the same time “waging war against ignorance and injustice,” may his voice be heard and understood. Recommended!
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Eric McCarl
Atlantis Lost
Weaving Libra Records

Outside Inside Atlantis 

A news bulletin caught my eye just days before I started on this review. “Atlantis discovered in Ireland”. My philosophy remains the same as it was since the fourth grade. Scientists do not know everything. Now, many decades later my theory is that Atlantis may not have been an island in the North Atlantic, or a supposed salt marsh in Spain or even a real place. After listening to Eric McCarl’s new album Atlantis Lost, my theories may have been confirmed.

Solo piano composer Eric McCarl gained notoriety with the release of his first album, Seeking the Light Within, the first episode in his Trilogy of Light series. In the second installment, Atlantis Lost, McCarl musically brings to vivid life emotional and spiritual concepts that have remained dormant for more than twenty years. 

The first cut, The Runner, is a call to action as the story unfolds. Peril draws near and our Mercurial messenger has but a short time to give the cry of warning. Over craggy rock and sandy shore the runner presses on to the city of Atlantis. There is an incredible sense of urgency in the music as McCarl draws from Mozart’s Symphony #25 in G minor. The music has that “silent movie” feel to it that raises an alarm and that paves the way for the forthcoming action.

Atlantis Lost, the title track is one of the longest and best cuts on the album. It is a wonder how McCarl can get so much music out of one piano. The song is a contemporary number with threads of emotional nuance woven throughout. Although we still do not know exactly what cataclysm befell the great paradise of Atlantis, we feel the incredible sense of dispossession. It is as if the pointed finger of some unseen god has poked a hole in our own universe only to let escape all of our sense of well-being. Could this be what Adam and Eve felt at the loss of their paradise? As I listened to this song, I could not help but think of all the people in Florida who were victims of hurricane Charley. I cannot even for a moment pretend to understand their pain of loss.

The track No More Tears is extremely emotional. Forlorn in its minimalist arrangement, it is a melodic depiction of regrets and goodbyes. It suggests to us that we must move on. Our world has collapsed around us and yet there may be some hope. Perhaps in the new dawn’s amber light there may be something more. 

Tell Me Why is one man’s search for the answers. Twenty years ago when McCarl originally wrote down these notes he could not possibly have known that today he would be searching for the answers to some of the same questions he had as a younger man. As in the fall of Atlantis, man questions the very wisdom of the gods, or when towers are destroyed by hurtling jetliners or when one man’s life is taken by terrorists for a crooked concept of justice. Maybe if we had the right questions?  Tell Me Why is my favorite cut on Atlantis Lost.

The epitome of introspection, Lost At Sea is a symbolic look at where we are today. It is an observation as to the state of man’s affairs in our world. So many of us seem to be foundering in a rough sea of confusion, but luckily, the music gives us a bit of direction. We may be lost at sea, but for the way home or for some of the answers, we might only have to look inside our selves. To me, this is what McCarl’s music is all about. As in his previous work, he suggests that we are the source. Our inner strength and our faith are the essence that keeps us buoyant.

A sense of yearning is evident in Eric’s contemplative finale Far Away. There is a lightness to it that is less obvious in the rest of the album. Perhaps it is a respite after a stormy occurrence. It is calming like the first golden rays of the sun as it peeks out of the ocean. It is like the first sip of a cool drink of water. Unfortunately, it only makes us want more of the same and sometimes it is… far away.

Eric McCarl’s second offering, Atlantis Lost, is refreshment for the weary spirit. Using a highly polished mirror made of music, our vision is turned inward as we struggle for the answers. His music reinforces the fact that we are stronger than we think and there is more hope available than we know. Atlantis Lost is different from Seeking the Light Within. In some ways it is more sophisticated, yet it remains complimentary to McCarl’s overall theme. 

For Eric McCarl’s biography see my review of Seeking the Light Within.

Rating: Excellent

R. J. Lannan
Independent reviewer for the New Age Reporter
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