The Healing Touch CD
Clifford brings us ASCENSION II – The Healing Touch, the sequel to the huge hit that launched his career. Quite possibly his best album ever, Cliff surpasses himself and leaves us mesmerised. Whereas The Gods of Olympus had great themes and historic power, The Healing Touch is a beautiful and sublime release and sequel to the hit ‘Ascension’ which started Clifford’s career 25 years ago. The music has a grace, divinity, subtle, gentle, and perfect for anyone in need of refreshment, healing and cleansing. The production is superb with shimmering sounds and themes that build and flow together as effortlessly as ripples on a pond.
No-1 Top Ten Winner
1. A Blessing
2. Eternity
3. Luna
4. Sanctuary
5. Reawakening
6. Divination
7. the Healing Touch
8. the Answer
9. The Power Within
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Price: £9.99
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Robert LaBreche
1yearago
Love your 2 samples of The Healing Touch & Angel. Where in the States can I fine a seller
of your music. I tried Amazon but they do not carry your music. I would really like to buy
these 2 CDs.
Thank You
Robert
Medwyn Goodall
1yearago
Presently the best way to get our CD’s in the USA to order from the website. The postage is not that expensive and the service is very quick.
Previous Review
1yearago
Congratulation Dear Clifford for your newest album!!!
I have just listened to the entire album!
The Healing Touch is soothing, healing, relaxing and has a lot of sprit & soul!
Each piece is masterfully arranged and performed with a deep emotional quality of compassion and understanding.
In my judgment, the recordings on this album have been created out of the moment: Impressionistic, surrealistic improvisations, perfect for thinking more about our life & creator!
My favorite song is “A Blessing”: it takes a spiritual journey to heavens! & makes flying to a pure land that all of the people worshiping God by their hearts in it!!
“A Blessing” is Unique that I cannot describe all my feelings about it! “A Blessing”
Nasim Asgari, Persia, 02.04.2010
Previous Review
1yearago
Clifford White is a new age musician based in the UK who has been creating great music for quite a number of years now and like a fine wine continues to improve with age. Clifford’s latest release is called Ascension II: The Healing Touch and is actually a sequel of sorts to an album he released years ago called, not surprisingly, Ascension back in 1985. Unfortunately I have never heard Clifford’s earlier album so my review will be strictly based on Clifford’s current release without any comparisons to what has come before. Besides I like to listen to music not so much based on what has been done by the artist in the past so much as I like to look at new collections of songs to see how it stands on its own in the here and now.
Clifford White’s musical sensibilities are evident from the first track right through the end of the album. Each song is an emotional journey that will leave the listener in a contemplative and peaceful state of mind as it weaves its spell around you. The music has been carefully crafted by Clifford so that each song simply becomes a part of the whole experience that is Ascension II and one tends to forget that they are listening to individual tracks after a few songs. Instead you find yourself submerged in the music as it washes over you like waves on a beach.
One of my favorite songs on this new album is a track called Luna. It is a lush and dreamy tune that starts off quietly and simply and then adds elements to the mix as the song progresses. Clifford gives himself and the listener plenty of time to be drawn into the song as he fleshes it out during its 9 minutes of play time. There have been some songs that I have listened to over the years that 9 minutes would have been way too much time to endure but Clifford has crafted this softly captivating song as to allow the listener to find themselves adrift on his sound currents and paying little attention to the passage of time. In fact as the song winds down it felt like it ended too soon and that I could have drifted a ways further down the path without ever feeling like the song had gone on too long.
Ascension II is comprised of 9 songs and a running time of over an hour so once you step into Clifford’s soundworld you had best be prepared to simply let the hour drift by while you allow the ebb and flow of the music to take you to places you may have consciously forgotten. But given the right stimulus, Ascension II perhaps, these places can still be brought to the surface of our minds. Clifford uses nature sounds sparingly throughout this production but he does seem to insert them into the songs in just the right amount and at just the right times to make them very effective in creating the environment for his music to be move and breathe.
All in all I think that you will find Ascension II to be well worth the effort to obtain your own copy and then spend some time listening to it. You will find that repeated listenings will allow you to enter more fully into the music and grasp some of the finer points that Clifford puts on his music. Clifford offers up some memorable melodies that really show off his writing abilities and his production skills acquired over years of honing his trade. Ascension II offers up an intimate collection of songs from Clifford White that shows that he has spent the last 25 years since the first Ascension came out exploring new realms with his music and he has been reluctant to stand still and do the same thing over and over again. Clifford allows his new age sensitivity to shine forth on this release and I’m sure that it will only enhance his already formidable reputation as a consummate musician and producer. Definitely recommended.
Michael Foster, United States, 23.3.2010
Previous Review
1yearago
I’m always amazed when an artist totally changes style from one album to the next. Only a talented and versatile artist is able to express something entirely different from one release to the next. Last year Clifford White gave us the massive The Gods of Olympus, which tells the story of the principal gods of the Greek pantheon. The 71 minute long album is simply a new age music Tour de Force, an album worthy of gods.
This year Clifford White has something truly different in store for us; The Healing Touch – Ascension II. It is just as laid back and chilled as The Gods of Olympus was dramatic. In other words; totally different. White is proving that magic also is to be found in the most gentle of sounds.
Indeed, you might argue that The Healing Touch is not all new. This is because it actually is the sequel to one of the most successful new age music titles of all time: Clifford White’s debut album Ascension (New World Music, 1985). This album did not have a subtitle about healing like the new release, but nevertheless people all over the world has been aware of the album’s healing properties since it was released back in the golden age of new age music. It truly is a pillar, both in the genre and in Clifford White’s discography.
What makes The Healing Touch so special are the carefully crafted layers of sound. Like on all White’s releases there are strong melodic elements – the lead instruments here are flute, harp, synth, bright piano and a nice selection of analogue sounding synths. But that is just one layer. In the background, much less audible, are quite extraordinary synth strings and bass effects that just takes my breath away (yes, I know, I’m a 80s type of synth fan – and proud of it). This is where the gentleness and healing is to be found. Most tracks are without a distinct drum beat (except for track six, Divination) – which makes it great for massage or chill out sessions after a hard day at work.
There are two types of tracks on The Healing Touch album. One is the chilled and positive type (for instance track 3, Luna). The other one is the almost sacral, larger-than-life type that makes one think of Vangelis’ best moments or Patrick O’Hearn (for instance track 2, Eternity, or track 9, The Answer). White’s magic is in the combination of these two worlds of sound, creating a package that is simply irresistible. Here Clifford White is just as chilled as on his compilation, An Island Called Paradise.
It is hard to select one favorite track on the album, but I instantly fell for track 3, Luna. It makes me think of Tangerine Dream’s new material, and it is just as good – the piano part in the ends and light high hat rhythm.
Last year’s album, The Gods of Olympus, is just so impressive and complex – but clearly not for everyone. In this way The Healing Touch is different; this is an album that almost everyone will find enjoyable. It is just so relaxing, so warm.
After all, we all need a healing touch from time to time…
B T Fasmer, Netherlands.20.03.2010
Previous Review
1yearago
Awesome!
Jill Applegate, USA.. 20.03.2010
Previous Review
1yearago
What a rare treat!!! Being firmly upon the pagan path I found this album to be a real breath of fresh air. The music is involving and the vocals have a earthy celtic quality which simply begs to be listened to again and again.
Peter King, Bristol, UK. 19.5.2010
Previous Review
1yearago
When I first heard that Clifford White was going to follow up his critically acclaimed 2009 album The Gods of Olympus with a sequel to his very first record Ascension (released by New World Music is 1985), I was both surprised and excited. Twenty-five years since the release of that classic work, the news that there would be another album in the style of Ascension certainly had me counting the days until its release. However on reflection this feeling of pleasurable anticipation was offset somewhat by a nagging worry. What with White’s best-selling masterpiece being such a hard act to follow, and with so many years having elapsed, could the artist possibly recapture the mood of the original? Would this latter-day return to his roots live up to expectations? I needn’t have worried.
Inevitably, Ascension II: The Healing Touch, published by MG Music in 2010 will invite comparisons with its successful predecessor. And quite rightly; the entire album features various nods to the original (some of which I will discuss later on in this review), both in terms of melody, choice of sounds and tranquil mood. While the first album is imbued with a charming simplicity, this excellent sequel updates and revisits several of the themes of Ascension, while successfully recapturing the gentle and serene qualities that helped make White’s 1985 work such a hit with New Age music fans.
Before I go on to comment on the individual compositions that make up this album, the superb production is worthy of note. Recording technology has come a long way since the mid-eighties, and it certainly shows here. All the subtleties, textures and layers of instrumentation are allowed to shine through, courtesy of White’s top-notch producing skills. The clarity and balance of his magical soundscapes, apparent throughout, benefit the listening experience a great deal.
With nine delightful tracks and an overall running time of over sixty minutes, there is much for Clifford White fans to savour on Ascension II. The album opens brightly with “A Blessing”. One is immediately drawn to the infectious melody. Here is a piece that quite neatly sets the tone of what is to follow. “A Blessing” is restful, enchanting and with its positive energy, spiritually akin to the first Ascension, albeit delivered with a modern slant. Actually the bass line made me smile, reminding me a little of the one on “Mr. Elemental”, a personal favourite from the original.
The second piece on offer has a more orchestral feel. The sensual harmonies and lead synth line of “Eternity” were clearly inspired by Vangelis, a master of symphonic electronic music who has long been a major inspiration on White’s music. “Eternity” drifts along exquisitely, and is so gentle and pleasant you could easily fall asleep to this one (and I mean that in the nicest possible way!).
Richly atmospheric, the nine minutes of aural bliss that is “Luna” are truly captivating. The slow groove, measured pace, hypnotic beeps and intricate sequences would not be out of place on one of William Orbit’s legendary Strange Cargo albums. This abstract composition builds slowly as more layers of sound are added while the sexy trance-like ambience is sustained throughout. There are so many deft touches: the lush synth-string backdrop that complements a simple, delicate melody; the Latin piano that appears late on in the track, and aha! is that another agreeably funky bass line I hear? (As an aside, I for one wish Mr. White would indulge in this kind of thing a little more; I’ve always felt he has an ear for soulful, even danceable music.) For sure, nice touches such as this enhance the music no end. “Luna” is simply wonderful.
Natural forest sounds provide a backdrop to “Sanctuary”, the fourth and longest piece on Ascension II. The listener is quickly transported into a peaceful place. This stately, unhurried composition evoked in my mind the scene of a secluded woodland glade. One imagines a forest sanctuary indeed, with images of dappled sunlight and leaves rustling in the wind, the hush broken only by the gentle gurgling sounds of a babbling brook. A place of serenity to rest and contemplate the enigmatic beauty of Nature. Whatever mental images the music conjures up, certain aspects send shivers down your spine, such as the haunting flute and crystalline chimes, while as a whole “Sanctuary” is best appreciated if you just allow the music to wash over you. This one reminds me of some of the more ambient pieces on his 1989 album The Lifespring.
To my ears the preliminary chords and timbres of “Reawakening” are reminiscent of the electronic tone poems that comprise much of the gentler side of Chris Franke’s soundtrack work. This is a quite beautiful piece and probably the most accessible track on the album. The understated overture swiftly develops into a catchy, upbeat tune that lingers in the mind and demands repeated listens! With stirring harmonies, nice saxophone and a melody to die for, “Reawakening” is an absolute gem of a track. One of White’s best ever, in my humble opinion.
Following on from this is the marvellous title track, which is gracious, restful and features another delightful melody. The bird sounds and very welcome introduction of an acoustic guitar augment this well-crafted piece. One cannot help but relax and simply enjoy the melodic beauty presented here.
The penultimate track is the emotive “The Answer”. The distinctive keyboard sound, bittersweet aura and overall style are clearly intended as a homage to “The Calling”. This latter I fondly recall as one of the best and most moving pieces on the first Ascension. One wonders at the respective titles … is this a response to the original call of 25 years ago?
“The Power Within” is the short-but-sweet album finale. Rich synth chords and undulating harps contribute to a somewhat grandiose, Vangelis-inspired theme that would fit quite nicely on White’s previous album The Gods of Olympus. Come to think of it, surely this piece belongs in the soundtrack to an epic movie! But failing that, it’s not hard to let your imagination dream up the visuals to accompany this, and indeed all the other tracks. A stirring conclusion to an accomplished musical suite.
The music on Ascension II: The Healing Touch is (as you would imagine) informed and inspired by its much-loved predecessor. In my view this belated sequel more than lives up to expectations. In terms of sound, melodic structure and general tone, this recording contains numerous references to the original and I’m sure other Clifford White fans will have as much fun as I did in recognising these.
Ascension II certainly recalls the majesty and elegance of his debut album, and will no doubt inspire listeners to rediscover that early masterwork. But this is a fine album in its own right, updating and transcending the uncomplicated innocence of Ascension while bringing new sounds and textures to delight the sonic palette.
In essence, Clifford White’s music is really about uplifting the human spirit. This brilliant new album further enhances his reputation as a talented producer, composer and musician, stamped as it is with his customary deft touch. A healing touch.
Richard Simms, London, Uk 12.03.2010