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THE SPECTRAL SHIPS A spectral ship is apparently a nautical wraith - a ghost ship, appearing on the horizon at dusk or dawn. Richard Bone uses this theme to present nine rich, abstract although far from formless images. This is of course also the result of the setting of the pieces; a thematic album, each of the tracks is respectively christened in the name of nine spectral ships drawn from seafaring lore. Thus there is a concrete reference point in the listening experience, at times further emphasized by the sound of ebbing and flowing waves ("The Wild Hunt") or blowing gale ("Astrea"). On the whole, however, these tales gain their narrative strength more through Bone´s accomplished and suggestive musicianship; the waters seem becalmed, but what lurks beneath the surface? The sample, twice repeated, with which the first track, "The Serpentine Arcade", concludes, sends shivers up this reviewer´s spine each time it is intoned: "The blessed in Heaven will often walk to the battlements, andlook down, and delight in the justice of God being properly carried out in Hell". Still, what more suitable theme for an ambient CD than the amorphous waters of the seven seas and the incorporalilty of ghost ships? |