Every Echoes living room concert CD is difficult to put together. There are always great performances, rare songs, and unique circumstances that go into every disc and Refractions: The Echoes Living Room Concerts Volume 12 was no exception. Yet it manages to perfectly capture everything that makes up the Echoes soundscape, but with live performances. I love the flow which begins in an Ennio Morricone style spaghetti Western ambience with Peppino D'Agostino and Stef Burns' "Inner Sanctuary," my favorite song from their Bayshore Road CD. The album ends with an epic from Vic Hennegan, recorded in his kitchen, but traveling the spaceways. In between these two apparent extremes is a journey that is nostalgic and evocative, serene and searing. Michael Brook gets the searing done. He appeared on the very first Echoes Living Room Concert CD, 1991's A Door In The Air. I always like the version of Red Shift he recorded in his London living room better than the version that finally made it to his CD Cobalt Blue. And I have to say, I think I like this version of LightStar better than the one on his latest, RockPaperScissors. He had to leave the Bulgarian choir at home, but we get more of Michael's guitar solos. We take you into the quaint Victorian living room of AjantaMusic in London, where Paul and Robin Simon lay down their exotica electronica. We also present the first live performance from Marconi Union, the enigmatic Manchester, England duo whose ambient chamber rock is full of mystery. We couldn't go to Switzerland for Andreas Vollenweider, but he gave us his most unique performance to date, playing a very different rendition of his song The Seven Doors on a borrowed Celtic harp. Al Petteway and Amy White s "Midnight Ride" is simply pristine with ringing acoustic guitar lines that exult in contrapuntal space. We have looping electric cello and looping electric violin with Gretchen Yanover and Caryn Lin respectively. Gretchen's a newcomer to Echoes thi
