Natural Elements (Acoustic Alchemy album)
| Natural Elements | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Acoustic Alchemy | ||||
| Released | 1988 | |||
| Recorded |
1988 at: Hansa Haus Studios, Bonn, Germany | |||
| Genre | Smooth Jazz | |||
| Length | 35:05 | |||
| Label |
MCA 42125 GRP 9834 (1996 re-release) | |||
| Producer | John Parsons | |||
| Acoustic Alchemy chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
Natural Elements was the second major label release by Acoustic Alchemy from 1988.
The shortest of all of the band's albums, only comprising eight tracks, Natural Elements set out to show what the title suggests: the organic side to Acoustic Alchemy's music.
Points to note from this album include the title track, Natural Elements, which became the theme tune to long-running BBC gardening show, Gardener's World, and the re-recording of an early track, "Casino", now re-arranged to include piano and full percussion parts.
The track "Ballad For Kay" is dedicated to Nick Webb's wife, Kay.
Review
Not quite complex enough to be jazz, not quite mellow or ambient enough to be new age, and just a little too cerebral to just be pop music, Acoustic Alchemy's Natural Elements is its own little oddity. These tunes, based on the dueling acoustic guitars of Gregory Carmichael and Nick Webb, are invariably melodic, at times featuring a sort of folkiness that suggests Bert Jansch and John Renbourn's work in the Pentangle, and the mixture of acoustic guitar and synthesizers is not really that much different from what Vini Reilly was doing in the far hipper Durutti Column around the same time. On the down side, John Parson's production, which is heavy on his own synthesizer programming, is as slick as fiberglass rubbed down with bacon fat and causes even the most agreeable tunes, like the lovely "Late Night Duke Street," to slide away into nothingness after all but the most careful listens. A fine album, Natural Elements is nonetheless only for committed fans of the genre.
Track listing
| # | Title | Writers | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Drake's Drum" | Webb/Carmichael | 4:49 |
| 2 | "Overnight Sleeper" | Webb/Carmichael | 3:39 |
| 3 | "Natural Elements" | Webb/Carmichael | 3:55 |
| 4 | "Casino" | Webb/James | 3:51 |
| 5 | "If Only" | Webb/Carmichael | 5:17 |
| 6 | "Ballad For Kay" | Webb | 2:59 |
| 7 | "Evil The Weasel" | Parsons | 5:37 |
| 8 | "Late Night Duke Street" | Webb/Carmichael | 4:46 |