Gnosis Ratings

Reviews:

Eddie Lascu Passing Decades - Volume 1 10-June-2007

It is with great reluctance that I approach one-man orchestra albums. Usually they sound patchy, no matter how good is the artist. The instruments are recorded one by one and then they are all mixed together. That makes the music to sound inconsistent and irregular. The majority of such albums suffer from this very problem. Not "Passing Decades" though. Rory Ridley-Duff is an academically trained musician from UK. Among other artistic, business and academic pursuits, Ridley-Duff has written music for solo projects and several rock/jazz bands such as Protos, Sly and Danzante. "Passing Decades" features a collection of new arrangements of music written for Protos in the '80s when Ridley-Duff was an active member of the band. The music is entirely instrumental, Ridley-Duff playing an arsenal of keyboards. With a few exceptions, all the songs have a cinematic flavour. I closed my eyes and I've seen several movie sequences, from spaghetti western, to drama, action, sci-fi and romance. Then there is the odd piece that makes the things so interesting. In "Passing Decades" case, one to mention is the second track called "Variations" which sounds like an extras from a Mike Oldfield album (there are even some tubular bells heard in there). The best is saved till the end, where "Space", a 12-minute stunner wraps up this interesting album. Ambient and soundtrack music lovers are in for a treat.

Links for further information

Dr. Rory Ridley-Duff

Eddie Lascu	Passing Decades - Volume 1	10-June-2007
It is with great reluctance that I approach one-man orchestra albums. Usually they sound patchy, no matter how good is the artist. The instruments are recorded one by one and then they are all mixed together. That makes the music to sound inconsistent and irregular. The majority of such albums suffer from this very problem. Not "Passing Decades" though. Rory Ridley-Duff is an academically trained musician from UK. Among other artistic, business and academic pursuits, Ridley-Duff has written music for solo projects and several rock/jazz bands such as Protos, Sly and Danzante. "Passing Decades" features a collection of new arrangements of music written for Protos in the '80s when Ridley-Duff was an active member of the band. The music is entirely instrumental, Ridley-Duff playing an arsenal of keyboards. With a few exceptions, all the songs have a cinematic flavour. I closed my eyes and I've seen several movie sequences, from spaghetti western, to drama, action, sci-fi and romance. Then there is the odd piece that makes the things so interesting. In "Passing Decades" case, one to mention is the second track called "Variations" which sounds like an extras from a Mike Oldfield album (there are even some tubular bells heard in there). The best is saved till the end, where "Space", a 12-minute stunner wraps up this interesting album. Ambient and soundtrack music lovers are in for a treat.
Links for further information
Dr. Rory Ridley-Duff