Larry Ludwick - The Exodus

Hear The Track Here

It seems like forever ago since I first met (as it were) Larry Ludwick and yet I reviewed Nod's Ascent for Dave in July 2008 (not Cold Heart Mountain as I mentioned in my last review), a mere blink in time away and yet he's become a fixture on the Soundclick landscape in that time and - incidentally - clocked up a sizable proportion of plays too. Looking back now I see that I got a very blinkered view of Larry's work back then because he's certainly confounded me in all manner of ways since then, notably for his spoken word pieces with The Dead Company and others. Musically, his own style tends to be a little sombre, or at least that is the way it appears to me. Now while I recognise that about his work, it doesn't stop me enjoying it and - once in a while - being really enthused about what he does. Ultimately, I think, for me anyway, Larry Ludwick often journeys into places I don't personally go for, but whatever it is, he definitely pours everything he's got into it.

It's funny, as soon as I saw the title of this track I instantly started humming this which only points up how musically mangled my musical upbringing was. As much as it was a pure piano piece, I found it incredibly catchy and, in many ways, intensely moving. Of course, that was a hit in 1960, and times have REALLY moved on but Larry Ludwick's The Exodus remains, at heart, a pure piano piece. Moreover, take a listen to that track first, then start on Larry's and you'll see the connection straightaway. Both have that breathless quality and both are absolutely drenched in emotion but - much more to the point - it points up just how far we have come in realising TRUE musical tonality and depth.

Of course it's no kind of review at all to compare something made in 1960 and something made some fifty years later but what it proves is that I don't have anything else to pick on and that shows just how good Larry is at making this kind of music. I particularly liked the vocal treatments happening in here, I think they really give the track that unearthly, breath-stopping feeling that only comes with something right. Classical styles, I have found, are incredibly difficult to get to sound natural and, on that score, Larry has worked miracles. Everything sounds exactly as it should, and I haven't always been able to say that about this musicians sounds. While this is not exactly my kind of style, I know there will be many with whom it will find great favour.

Highly Recommended Contemporary Classical.