Are you looking for some music to melt away the stress of the day, the kind that will have you singing just like that morning dove outside your window? I have just the thing, a musical elixir delivered by a magician of the steel pan named Robert Symons.
I had the pleasure of hearing the first two installments of his Tropicana Steel Pan music, now he has Volume 3 all set to go so you can load up all three CDs, turn it up, kick back, and get a sun tan right in your own living room, well, almost. The music certainly does give a beachside view of that island of your dreams with the pink sand and endless shoreline. Imagery is what this music creates and it works very well if you let it.
You will recognize many, if not all of these tunes; I guess that would depend on your age group though. I found myself singing all the words after a few notes, except "Begin The Beguine," I am not that old. It is quite amazing how Symons coaxes all of these beautiful rhythms and sounds from his steel pan set. A James Taylor classic opens the album, "Handyman," and it sets the mood just right and puts a warm feeling in your heart. Taylor's music was always good for those warm fuzzy feelings. I love Lulu's timeless tune "To Sir With Love," there is just something about that song that pulls on my heartstrings and I think about the movie with Sydney Poitier. It really is something how the instrumental takes on these songs can stir up so many things in your mind.
Symons has the right approach with this series of releases, take some of the best-known tunes, and make them his own with the help of the steel drums. He gives you a chance to relive all the feelings and emotions that go along with each time tested tune. Breathing some of that tropical way of living into the tunes with some of the most simple and relaxing music there is what the result is of this fine effort accomplishes. Once again, directly from Bermuda, the steel drums will steal you away for a while. Trust me, this music is a wonderful relaxing tool, try it you will like it.
© Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck-http://www.muzikreviews.com
June 28, 2005
Rating-8/10
Robert Symons' music is played on www.wholewheatradio.org
Here are his listener locations:
ALABAMA - Birmingham, Gardendale ALASKA - Seward, Fairbanks, Chugiak, Juneau, Wasilla, Valdez, Anchorage, Glennallen, Bethel, Talkeetna ARIZONA - Apache Junction, Prescott, Peoria, Tucson ARKANSAS - Little Rock CALIFORNIA - Fremont, Long Beach, San Jose, Studio City, Buena Park, Glendale, Concord, Beverly Hills, El Cajon, Santa Cruz, Canyon Country, Berkeley, Vista, Eureka, Antelope, Santa Barbara, Arcata, Sunnyvale, San Diego, La Mesa, San Bruno, Palo Alto, Daly City, Oceanside, Carlsbad, Madera, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento
COLORADO - Divide, Denver, Colorado Springs, Deranged, Aurora, Crestone CONNECTICUT - Stamford DELAWARE - New Castle DISTRICT of COLUMBIA - Washington FLORIDA - Longwood, Winter Park, Clearwater, Alachua, Orlando, Pembroke Pines, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Saint Petersburg, Sarasota, Land O Lakes
GEORGIA - Woodstock, Atlanta, Kennesaw, Macon, Cartersville, Cumming, Roswell HAWAII - Honolulu IDAHO - Moscow, Coeur d Alene Illinois - CHICAGO, Round Lake INDIANA - Indianapolis
IOWA - Ames, Iowa City Kansas - Derby, Olathe, Lansing KENTUCKY - Lexington, Owensboro, Latonia MAINE - Kennebunk, Bangor, South Portland, Brunswick MARYLAND - Bowie, Westminster, Towson
MASSACHUSETTS - Cambridge, Winchester, Lynn, Foxboro, Boston MICHIGAN - Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor, Livonia, Saline, Detroit, Dearborn MINNESOTA - Brainerd, Duluth, Minneapolis, Mankato MISSOURI - Independence, Joplin Montan! a - Kalispell
NEBRASKA - Norfolk, Bellevue , Omaha NEVADA - Reno NEW HAMPSHIRE - Plymouth, Amherst, Dover, Keene NEW JERSEY - Haworth, Stillwater, Jersey City, Oakhurst, Hammonton NEW MEXICO - Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Truth or Consequences
NEW YORK - Wappingers Falls, Auburn, Rochester, Albany, Brooklyn, Poughkeepsie, Middletown, Beacon, New York, Yonkers, Huntington NORTH CAROLINA - Durham, Brevard, Asheville, Sneads Ferry, Raleigh oHIO- East Liverpool, Columbus, Findlay, Sunbury, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Medina, Dayton OKLAHOMA - Clayton, Norman, Oklahoma City OREGON - Forest Grove, Hillsboro, Portland, Eugene, Medford, Brookings
PENNSYLVANIA - Reading, West Mifflin, Montgomery, Hanover, Gilbertsville, Ambler, Lititz, Allentown, Woolrich, Downingtown, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Lancaster RHODE ISLAND - Warren, Providence SOUTH CAROLINA - Myrtle Beach, Aiken TEXAS - Amarillo, Glen Rose, Corpus Christi, Plano, Houston, El Paso, Dallas, Jasper, Fort Worth, Austin Utah - Provo, Logan, Salt Lake City
VIRGINIA - Alexandria, Charlottesville, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Fredericksburg, McLean, Roanoke, Woodbridge, Fairfax, Sterling WASHINGTON - Yelm, Bellingham, Langley, Gig Harbor, Vancouver, Seattle, Puyallup WEST VIRGINIA - Morgantown Wisconsin - Appleton, Milwaukee, Middleton, Cudahy, Madison, Oxford, Kenosha
CANADA - Edmonton, Burnaby, Mission, Kamloops, Toronto, Brampton FRANCE - Strasbourg GERMANY - Mannheim, WURZBURG, Munich, Berlin, Siegen, Bonn, Krefeld, Essen HUNGARY - Budapest ITALY - Napoli
POLAND - Wroclaw, Warsaw UNITED KINGDOM - Harpenden, London, Preston, Bristol, Guildford, Crawley, Cardiff FINLAND- Helsinki EARTH - Tallahassee ESTONIA - Tallinn
NORWAY - Bergen SLOVENIA - Ljubljana AUSTRALIA- Sydney NETHERLANDS - Tilburg, Rotterdam INDONESIA - nabire
CZECH REPUBLIC- Prague CHILE - Santiago BRAZIL - Passo Fundo JAPAN - Tokyo AUSTRIA - Vienna
SWITZERLAND - Zurich
Read more...