CD Details
- Released: April 2, 2001
- Label: American Gramaphone
Tracks:
- 1.Chorale
- 2.The First Door
- 3.The Second Door
- 4.The Third Door
- 5.The Fourth Door
- 6.The Fifth Door
- 7.The Sixth Door
- 8.Door Seven
- 9.Fantasy
- 10.Interlude V
- 11.Velvet Tear
- 12.A Shade Tree
- 13.Toota Lute
- 14.Going to Another Place
Product Description:
Mannheim Steamroller includes: Chip Davis (vocals, dulcimer, reocrder, drums, percussion, programming); Jackson Berkey (vocals, acoustic & Fender Rhodes pianos, synthesizer, programming); Milt Bailey (vocals); Eric Hansen (classical guitar, lute, bass); Walt Meskell (guitar); Melody Malek (harp); Bob Jenkins (oboe); Dave Cappy (French horn).
Engineers include: Don Sears, Ron Ubel, John Boyd.
Recorded at Studio One, Kansas City, Missouri & Sound Recorders, Omaha, Nebraska.
All tracks have been digitally remastered using HDCD technology.
Personnel: Milt Bailey (vocals, chant); Chip Davis (chant, dulcimer, recorder, drums, percussion, programming); Jackson Berkey (chant, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, harpsichord, synthesizer, bells, programming); Eric Hansen (guitar, classical guitar, lute); Melody Malec (harp); Mortimer Alpert, Ginni Eldred, Dorothy Brown, Hugh Brown , Merton Shatzkin, Joe Landes (violin); Lucinda Gladics, James Hammond, Alex Sokol (viola); Miriam Duffelmeyer, Beth McCollum, Jean Hassel (cello); Bob Jenkins (oboe); Gene Badgett (trumpet); David Kappy (French horn); Don Sears (synthesizer, programming).
Audio Mixer: Don Sears.
Recording information: Kansas City, MO; Kansas City, Studio 1; Sound Recorders, Inc., Studio A, Omaha, NE; Sound Recorders, Omaha, NE; Studio 1, Kansas City, MO; Studio A.
Photographer: Steve Kline.
Arranger: Chip Davis.
Although the neo-classical instrumentals that Chip Davis produced as Mannheim Steamroller wouldn't really take off--commercially speaking, at least--until the early 1980s, his first efforts under that name were released several years earlier. FRESH AIRE II, the artist's sophomore release, came out in 1977, a sequel to his 1975 debut FRESH AIRE.
FRESH AIRE II is divided into two sections. The first offers treatments of medieval musical themes, which are varied via non-traditional instrumentation. The second focuses on moody, romantic piano compositions. There is more than a touch of prog-rock influence underlying all of this, but the textures, flights of fancy, and high-end sonic landscaping that later Mannheim fans know and love is present and accounted for.
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