Release date: 1992
Label: Red Hot Records
Production: Jade Warrior
Length: 49:15
Genre: new age/ambient/progressive rock
Rating: 8/10
In 1990, fans of the long-running prog rock icons Jade Warrior were saddened by the news of the death of original guitarist Tony Duhig. The sole remaining member, flutist/keyboardist/percussionist Jon Field, called in guitarist Colin Henson and bassist Dave Sturt for help, and the two did a pretty good job of filling the huge hole that yawned open after Duhig’s passing. The fruit of the trio’s collaboration was the 1992 album “Breathing the Storm”, on which Duhig was supposed to play too, had death not beaten him to it. With the help of more modern production, Jade Warrior updated their unusual, ethereal blend of ambient music, new age and world music, sprinkled with the occasional symphonic prog rock moment.
The eighties synth textures have vanished completely, making way for rolling symphonic arrangements, while the flute-and-guitar combo weaves gorgeous harmonies that whisk the listener off in an instant on a wonderful, relaxing ambient journey. Among the best moments on the album is “Over Ice and Water”, a true ambient masterpiece. Symphonic fans get their fix on “Gift of Wings”, which is steeped in a floating atmosphere, while “Memory of the Deep”, with its touches of world music and synth-generated choir harmonies, is a real treat for all the incurable romantics and lovers of ‘cosmic journeys to faraway lands’.
In the early nineties, Jade Warrior enjoyed a minor sonic renaissance with the thoroughly solid “Breathing the Storm”. Their decidedly non-commercial approach meant they were constantly living on the edge of survival, yet they somehow scraped through the nineties with one more studio project, “Distant Echoes” (1993), plus two unreleased albums from the seventies, “Eclipse” and “Fifth Element” (both released in 1998), which should have come out back in 1973.
author: Peter Podbrežnik
tracklist:
1. Gaia (3:41)
2. Breathing The Storm (7:03)
3. Over Ice and Water (6:30)
4. Gift of Wings (2:33)
5. Songs of the Air (2:23)
6. Memory of the Deep (10:09)
7. Reflecting Stars (3:01)
8. Asa no Kiri (4:39)
9. Circle of Wisdom (8:40)
Jade Warrior
Jon Field – flute, keyboards, percussion
Dave Sturt – bass guitar, keyboards, percussion, programming
Colin Henson – guitar, keyboards
