Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jade Warrior
Label: Earthsounds
Released: 1989
Runtime: 43:41
Rating: 2.5/5
»At Peace« was the last album by the cult British prog rock outfit Jade Warrior to feature original guitarist and key songwriter Tony Duhig in the lineup, since the following year he was struck down by an unexpected, fatal heart attack. After his death, the band, now led by flutist/percussionist/keyboardist Jon Field, surprisingly managed to pick itself up and return to its old artistic standards, even though since then they’ve put out only three studio albums of new material and two albums recorded in the seventies that had sat unreleased.
»At Peace« is by far the most meditative, laid-back and easy-listening Jade Warrior effort, stylistically closest to ambient music and even new age, which means that Duhig and Field, the only two members of this legendary band left in the late eighties, had by then drifted quite far from their prog roots. All the music on the album was played by that guitar-and-flute duo, much like on its somewhat more dynamic predecessor »Horizen« (1984).
This time synth textures take center stage, and the two of them split those duties successfully between them. These form the core of the flowing, mostly strikingly clear ambient curtains that are best suited to assorted meditative activities, while most die-hard rockers will start getting pretty bored pretty fast while listening to »At Peace«. The flute and especially the barely-there guitar are more or less just there ‘for decoration’ amid the synth drapes. Across all three tracks the record is dominated by very pretty but repetitive motifs, which can quickly lull even the most alert listener to sleep.
»At Peace« is still an album that most Jade Warrior fans don’t think much of today, even though it’s an extremely pleasant listening experience for anyone who isn’t averse to the meditative elements of new age and ambient music. Stylistically, »At Peace« is easily the furthest removed from the sonic legacy Jade Warrior had built up until then, which stood on a far more progressive and artistic footing, which is why Jon Field doesn’t look kindly on it or on its predecessor »Horizen« either. Even returning band member, singer/guitarist Glyn Havard, thinks today that »At Peace« was merely chasing the new age trends of the time, which is probably true, but a lack of soul is the last thing you can charge this record with, despite the considerable stylistic detour.
Lineup
Tony Duhig – guitar, synthesizer
Jon Field – flute, synthesizer
Production
Jade Warrior
Track list
1. At Peace
2. Quiet Stream
3. Sedgemoor
