The Iridium Controversy

by Birdsongs of the Mesozoic

Product Description:

Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic: Michael Bierylo (guitar, drums, programming);

Ken Field (flute, saxophone, percussion); Erik Lindgren (piano, organ, washboard); Rick Scott (piano, synthesizer, percussion).

Recorded at Sounds Interesting, Middleborough, Massachusetts; Visual Planet, Brookline, Massachusetts and Atlantic Center For The Arts, New Smyrna Beach, Florida between August 2002 and April 2003.

Digitally remastered using HDCD technology.

THE IRIDIUM CONTROVERSY marks Birdsongs of the Mesozoic's 20th anniversary as a recording unit, and stands to show how far they've come. The group began in the early '80s as an outlet for the less rock-oriented interests of Mission of Burma leader Roger Miller, but by the end of the decade he was gone, leaving the band to progress without him. A couple of decades down the road, Birdsongs have indeed refined their all-instrumental fusion of rock, jazz, and neo-classical composition.

Though most tracks are no more than five or six minutes long, each one is so full of subtly integrated textures and mood shifts that it feels like a kind of mini-symphony. THE IRIDIUM CONTROVERSY, while a very modern-sounding affair, bears a timeless tone that probably comes from the interaction of acoustic instruments (piano, saxophone) with electronic ones (synthesizer, programming). The resultant tonal character lends the album a feel that will surely sound contemporary another 20 years down the line.