This music is fabulous. Keep up the excellent work Ted McKee!

I enjoyed the frolicking tunes on this CD very much! The song about Jack in the Green was marvelous and fun to listen to. I hope to hear more from this artist.

Uncompromising in his music as ever, Ted McKee’s latest release, entitled Ritual is a universal leap from his previous commercial works, Ritual is a compilation of 10 songs with an expressive look at the many philosophies that encompass spirituality set to a variety of Celtic rhythms. The diverse subject matter and range of melodies makes every track worth its own mention. The first song The Man in Green generates a playful feeling in a decidedly upbeat acoustic Celtic tempo with McKee himself on guitar, mandolin and Pennywhistle. The lyrics are easy to listen to and bring forth immediate imagery of the Jack in the Wood. Believers of this philosophy draw on Mother Earth and nature as the true spirit of the soul. Track 2, On the Wings of a Gypsy takes a deeper turn into the airy-fairy sphere. This song has a beautiful melody and soothing little chorus line that carries the philosophy from The Man in the Green and as the song says takes us all home on the wings of a gypsy (quote). Home being that beacon of light many claim to see as they enter the next phase of existence. The next track, Ritual dives into the 4 elements that are considered to be the only constants in the world, Earth, Fire, Air and Water. This track follows along with reference to the Circle of Life. Here the melody line becomes a steady rhythmic sound with a strong drum beat driving the song. Track 4, Avalon is a feel good song. A little more pop like than the others, Avalon draws the listener in with lyrics about peace and love, taking you to a place in the past, before the petty nature of humans began to war with each other. Track 5, Rising Tide flows in love and light with Goddesses and Gods. The theme drifts with the current during the flow of man’s eternal search for fulfillment in a world gone astray from the planet’s natural rotation. Track 6 will probably bring more commercial success for the CD than any others. This toe tapping song has a distinctly Celtic flavor that invokes a vision of worshippers encircled hand in hand as it tells the story of Rianne (Ree-ann), a witch of long ago who is burned at the stake for the usual reasons. Primarily she sounds like a target whose only crime is daring to make decisions without a man at her side. A beautiful fiddle accompaniment on this tune by local musician, Allan Thompson strikes a perfect note with the chattering chant of clapping hands. It’s a great song for the next historical film portraying the scandals of Salem or for anyone daring to produce a film with a definitive Wiccan slant. Track 7, Rise picks up the Native American beat and sticks true to the genre. The haunting flute tracks by Jon Phillips and the eerie taunt of maracas call upon the great Spirits of a West long gone to unify people as one body of energy. Lady in the Moon, Track 8, re-mastered from an earlier CD is a departure in some respects from the other songs. In this call to passion, McKee sends sparks to find the fire of love to burn again although it is not meant to be romantic; the immediate interpretation might be such. The Lady in the Moon refers to the Goddess prevalent in the beliefs of Witches and Wicca’s dating back to the Celts celebration of Lammas and the Irish Gaelic holiday of Lugnasadh. In simple terms (and probably debatable by many faiths) these holidays denote the day representative of 'first fruits' and early harvest and is considered by Witches one of the four High Holidays or Greater Sabbats of Witchcraft, occurring 1/4 of a year after Beltane. Most non-Christian spiritual believers utilize a Goddess as their focus of worship. Track 9 is my favorite song on the CD and that is high praise from a cynical, non-believing skeptic. The title Blessed Be was almost enough to make me skip it. Ted’s vocals on every track are a rare combination of Van Morrison, Tom Waits and Sinatra. William Shatner has nothing on Ted McKee. In Blessed Be, Ted continues to weave a thread into the Circle of Light and the Five Points of ancient beliefs, as the energy and the fire within lingers in a soothing harmony with female back-up singers chanting blessed be. Enticing guitar licks drive the simple beat and the lyric paint a Sistine Chapel of love in the message to let all believers be as one. The song is finalized with an oratory message (hence the William Shatner reference) with Ted reading aloud in his mesmerizing voice quotations by Kahil Gibran, Black Elk, St. Augustine, First Corinthians and Goda Ghia. Track 10 I was privileged to preview a few months ago and took the liberty as an agent to send this song in to an international songwriting contest as a New Age entry. Entitled Sophia of the Dune, the 6 minute plus song outlines a man’s quest for enlightenment, love and truth. The beautiful melody develops like a journey from an acoustic ballad to a Celtic experience of soulful Cello accompaniment by Matt Walker who sat in the studio at Folly Beach last spring to lay down the exquisite tracks. New Age, Spiritual, and Philosophical in essence, Ritual is a CD that can give the most shallow soul a desire to renew faith in something. A few moments of reflection on the elements of Nature can open the eyes of most lost travelers and a few cuts off Ritual can certainly satisfy the thirst for something different in this traumatized world of music today. Blessed Be.