A&R Registry,
“…Because Sometimes the Difference Between Success and Failure is Information"
“…Because Sometimes the Difference Between Success and Failure is Information"
Ritch Esra, Publisher
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In The Temple of the Muse - No OrdinaryAlbum
“What we choose to fight is so tiny! What fights with us is so great!”
- Rainer Maria Wilke
This has always been a favorite quote of mine; it sums up so much of the heart’s vast and conflicting emotional landscape. It’s also the metaphorical and much of the musical framework that Martin Page has created his latest body of work on. With In The Temple of the Muse - the long awaited follow-up to
In The House of Stone and Light, Page has created a soulful and timeless work that takes us on a musical journey that reflects on spiritual surrender, keeping love’s intention in everything we do, forgiveness and the inarticulate speech of the heart in the face of profound and devastating loss. It’s his most powerful and personal work to date.
As a recording artist, he had his first success in 1982 with the release of his band Q-Feel which garnered the hit single Dancing in Heaven. Its success is what brought him to America. Instead of following up with another Q-Feel album at the time, his path lead him to focus more on his songwriting.
Over the last 25 years, he has written or co-written such memorable songs as We Built This City, (Starship), These Dreams (Heart) - both with Bernie Taupin, King of Wishful Thinking & Faithful (Go West), Fallen Angel (Robbie Robertson), just to name a few. In addition, he has also had his songs recorded by Josh Groban, Barbra Streisand, Bryan Ferry, Tom Jones, Earth, Wind & Fire and Kim Carnes, just to name a few.
In 1994, Page released his first solo album In The House of Stone and Light, which garnered the Top 10 Hit for the title track. There were other standouts on the album, especially Shape the Invisible, Keeper of the Flame, Monkey in my Dreams and the profoundly moving closer to the album The Door; a disturbingly evocative and chilling portrait of a grandmother who reflects on her childhood experience at Treblinka, a concentration camp during WWII.
It’s been fourteen years since In The House of Stone and Light, and I was very excited to hear his new work. I came to Martin Page’s new work as a past admirer and what became evident as I listened to In The Temple of the Muse was that as an artist, he has experienced ineffable loss and gone through some deeply personal transformations as a result of it over these past fourteen years. What has come out of it artistically is a very powerful work that reflects his journey through those experiences.
With In The House of Stone and Light, there was a gallantry and a driving spirit to many of the songs, (In The House of Stone and Light, Shape the Invisible, Keeper of the Flame), whereas in In The Temple of the Muse, Page has framed much of the work in a more subtle and internal way musically as many of the songs examine the various emotional landscapes and experiences of the human heart.
The beating of a human heart is slow, deliberate and provides life. That’s the best way to musically describe the opening track “I Guess I Will” , a song about spiritual surrender that’s built around a heart-beat like rhythm,
“The open vein, the ashes rain
A spirit shed upon our bed
Forever and a day I’ll be with you”
This theme runs through many of the songs of this great new CD. Musically, I Guess I Will is a richly layered and atmospheric track of subtle rhythm, as well as the majestic and beautifully articulated guitar textures (courtesy of Russell Broom, Jack Hues and Page) that add a hymn-like quality to the song.
In "Everything You Do" and “Try,” this rhythmic quality of the human heart is continued in both songs that remind not to lose sight of love’s power and intention in everything we do in life. There’s a great sense of intimacy Page brings to them vocally. In "Mi Morena", the most richly romantic song on the CD, Page holds the emotional intensity by grounding the track in a wonderfully lyrical and subtle bass line that carries the melody throughout the song. There’s a beauty to Spanish acoustic guitar that compliments the track as well. The bridge melody and lyric elevate the song’s feel; making it reminiscent of a prayer.
“Take this cross of feathers and bone
Take this heart I’ve carved in stone
In your name”
This song was originally recorded by Josh Groban on his last CD of original material. It was written and produced by Martin Page. While Groban has an excellent voice, it’s Page’s version that moves me more. Groban’s recording is more overtly lush and romantic where Page’s version is more organic and soulful in its approach especially vocally. This is often the case when you get to hear songwriters’ versions of their songs (who don’t normally sing them - ala Pete Townshend)
"Man In The Moon" looks at what we’re doing to the planet from the point of view of a conversation with the Man In The Moon who sees the truth of the way we’re treating the planet.
“Man In The Moon
Look What We’ve Done Down Here…..
All in The Name Of Fear
When The Black Cloud Clears
Another Forest Disappears
I Guess We Need The Room
Yeah, That’s our Excuse
Man In The Moon”
"Blessed" is a beautiful and powerful song. It’s a song that you can imagine hearing at weddings for years to come, but it’s also more than just an ordinary love song. It’s a song about true gratitude which is the heart’s memory. It’s a song that expresses what one feels when life’s journey blesses them with the someone who truly contributes to them in many ways emotionally and spiritually. The subtle acoustic guitar and musical textures underneath provide the perfect vehicle for this beautiful expression of genuine fulfillment.
"The Long Walk Home" conveys someone who’s trapped in the darkness of fear and can not let go. The hypnotic rhythm and musical build toward the end of the song give it a wonderful sense of melancholy and encouragement.
"Song for Ruth" is an exquisite song of reflection and remembrance on one level. On another, it speaks to the permanence and lasting value that true love has in our lives. With Song for Ruth the subtleties and various emotional melodic releases throughout the melody are highlighted by Pages best vocal on the album. In the final fade of the song Page’s voice captures the wide range of nuances without any false inflation of emotion, as the song recalls the scattered memories of jewelry and cigarettes and of the hearts that were blessed; and then recalls birthday hats and wedding rings, Dolphin Fins, Dignity and Lace – All in your lovelight! It brings to mind The Blue Nile at their evocative best. This is where you really see the growth in Page as both a songwriter and especially as a vocalist.
"When Johnny Sang The Blues" is another song of reflection and remembrance but much lighter in its tone. England of the 60’s provides the backdrop this time for an uplifting song that recalls the joys and exuberance of growing up during the era of the Mersey Sound and The Beatles where romance was always accompanied by the music of the day. It sings of a time when young lovers’ hearts were as open as the northern sky.
The final song "WhereThe Sun is Buried" is where the theme of In The Temple of the Muse culminates in an incredibly powerful metaphor. Its power isn’t from the examination of man’s dark nature by recalling some of the most ineffable human losses over the last 20 years – (The Schoolyard Massacre in Dunblane Scotland, The Bombing in Oklahoma City, The War in Sarajevo). Instead, its power is derived by the answer it provides; an answer that can only be expressed through the open and inarticulate speech of our heart.
In The Temple of the Muse is such a wonderfully rich body of work that looks at a wide range of emotional landscapes within the human heart. Like a great wine, it’s a work that deepens your appreciation of it upon each subsequent listen you give it.
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