Century Seasons: The Space Music of Jonn Serrie

Disc 1
1	Gentle, The Night 7:15
2	Deep Mystery 4:32
3	The Tachyon Directive 7:23
4	Starport Indra 7:09
5	Century Seasons 5:43
6	Tingri Maiden 8:45
7	The Legacy 7:55
8	The Far River 10:13
9	Welcome Home 8:49
Disc 2
1	Andromeda Dream 6:11
2	Continuum 5:00
3	Aftervisions 5:43
4	The Century Princess 5:25
5	Land of Lyss 7:01
6	The Straights of Madigann 9:41
7	Glyder 8:51
8	The Ancient of Days 9:24
9	The Last Secret 7:10

Barnes & Noble

Space-music composer Jonn Serrie really knows how to bring the cosmos to Earth. Best known for AND THE STARS GO WITH YOU, a memorial inspired by the Challenger shuttle tragedy, Serrie has been making musical space travels for 22 years, and this specially remixed two-CD set presents the best of them. Of course, because of the all-pervasive vacuum, there is no sound in the cosmic void, but Serrie uses sound to lead us through imaginary galaxies. On "Gentle the Night," Serrie whips up space winds, pulsar tones, and sharp crystalline rays. The newly composed "Deep Mystery" suggests limitless horizons with deep yawing sounds. Ominous vibes make several of the sonic adventures rather challenging: Large rocket engines seem to blast aboard an eerily abandoned spaceship on "Tachyon Directive," while a large bass drum creates a cavernous space on "Starport" (both from the IXLANDIA album). But delightful sparklings of stardust, angel voices, chime-like melodies, and redemptive organ tones keep the music from becoming too serious. "The Legacy," from SPIRIT KEEPERS, weaves in Native American chanting and drums, but even here you sense that you've poked your head through the barrier to another dimension. Serrie unfolds several pieces with dynamically rhythmic Tangerine Dream-like sequences that really seem to put you on the track to some destination, be it only through your own mind. The set ends with MIDSUMMER CENTURY's "The Last Secret," a track that demonstrates Serrie's special gift for sweet and lingering silences that make you feel like you're orbiting the globe from an awe-inspiring height. Carol Wright

All Music Guide

There is no sound in space, of course, and yet over the years certain conventions have grown up, especially in film, as composers and sound effects people have tried to provide aural equivalents to the sights of stars and planets moving through the void. By now, listeners "know" what space sounds like, and Jonn Serrie's series of albums, some of their material drawn from the soundscapes he has developed for planetarium shows, well represent these impressions. In the slow-moving patterns, bits of melody and rhythm are heard here and there, but most of the music is open-ended: if not formless, it nevertheless employs loose structures in which moods or themes can stretch or be abruptly terminated. Century Seasons is a two-disc compilation in which tracks from earlier Serrie albums have been remixed and woven together to create a lengthy journey through musical space. There are two newly written tracks that fit in well with the rest. The result is an album that blends familiar sections in new contexts with previously unheard efforts. William Ruhlmann