Full Of Life
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley May 27, 2021
Artist – John Gregorius
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https://spottedpeccary.com/shop/full-of-life/
A small, hidden folded sheet of paper covered with the most majestic of scenery is tucked away in the album cover; nothing but the name of the album and the composer placed upon the glorious picture. Full of Life by John Gregorius offers a landscape of stark beauty and contrast; the vast countryside awash in the glow of sunset, the ranges far on the horizon cloaked in mysterious shades of grey mauves redolent of secrets hidden, treasures to be discovered should the seeker choose to look.
This single sheet is significant as the music that unfolds throughout the work is such that the beauty hidden within the simple melodic pieces captivates, asks questions, entices the seeker to follow, to relax, as does the photograph presented; each singular piece placed there to allow the listener to write their own story as the music so dictates.
Each of the pieces is rich with warmth that wraps around the soul to sooth, release and relax the stresses of the day and yet full of a subtle understanding of life. But from the beginning the multi layered song The Expansive Sky is all about change, shadows, depth of colour and majesty.
The title track Full of Life could be viewed as somewhat fanciful in intent, which could be considered of the flow of life, whimsical in the contrasts of familiar and yet different: listen carefully to this piece as it holds a great many melodies that seem to be familiar, yet are at the last moment vastly different!
Winds of Change brings immediately to mind the sense the open plains, the hint of movement in the air, the subtle shifting of the grasses, the change in colour of the sky, an eeriness that begins to seep into the atmosphere. Clear and precise the ambient guitar is perfection.
Amongst the varied softness of the songs is the delightful Catalina, different, almost jaunty, cheerful and redolent of a fresh morning beginning to dawn, the clean crisp air, the awakening of hope, of joy in the simple pleasures to be found in a day Full of Life.
Rincon Fading Light when investigated further is a soundscape of light emerging or receding over the long expense of the beaches of Rincon in Puerto Rico; a landscape which like the desert holds mystery, vibrancy and an eternal sense of peace, timeless, forever and perfect.
Full of Life is a study in exquisite relaxation; as the folded sheet offered, the journey is yours to create as you choose, to write upon the sands of time as you so desire, to find within the music secrets hidden to reach out and touch the soul with peace and healing.