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Review title: jazz fans, look away
Product review: If you are considering buying this album based on Jeff Beal's other more jazz-oriented work, prepare for a huge disappointment. The Gathering is more along the lines of Beal's film score work (Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion, for example), which may be plenty appropriate in that context, but as a stand-alone album, it's just nauseating. This album is full of cheesy production (lots of obnoxious synth pads pretty much drown what little else there is to be heard), quasi-exoticism and new age-y shlock. Not to say this album hasn't got its positive qualities, in fact some of the tunes are okay, and Joan Beal's singing isn't bad; at times her voice achieves a Norma Winstone-esque tone. To be fair, I would likely have given this a two-star rating, if it hadn't already gotten an exuberant five. If, like myself, you enjoyed albums like Alternate Route and Three Graces, don't get your hopes up for this one. If you get off on albums by Enya or John Tesh, there might be something for you here.
