"... Maia from the mythology of the Greeks was the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters. This is the third track on the album and at 1 minute 20 you are virtually pulled into a black hole of brilliance by Kendle's gifted genius on the moog. The choir hits with precision of a perfection rarely seen in music these days, and with a slight touch of Oldfield and a smattering of Tomita the artist deliverers a piece that is best served as timeless.

The seamless way Kevin Kendle takes us through the album is a trade mark of the Deep Skies series, and Merope starts with a familiarity that reminds me of latter tracks on his Light From Orion album. It is as if your star ship has now left warp and arrived in a region of space unknown to man; it has a sinister, but expectant quality about it. The sheer celestial power of this piece will transfix the meditative attention of the listener, allowing them to harness the very evident power and deep nature of this track. Merope is full of energy and majesty.

Taygeta, the mother of Lacedaemon by Zeus, is the next port of call on our journey through the Pleiades. The start has a real Nigel Shaw feel to it, reminding me of his Shamanka days and has that trance like quality. Again he is on this track, one of five he features on, but his influence seems to be prominent here. Again the synthesizers, Kendle's weapons of mastery, move us through a piece that would be perfect for any science fiction film. Taygeta is a lighter track, but it’s more of a subtle change of gear that we are receiving here.

Kevin Kendle calls track six “Night Sky Music” - the actual piece is also entitled Asterope. This reminds me deeply of those years as a child laying on my back on seamlessly endless summer nights, looking up at the heavens with a wide eyed sense of beauty, transfixed by the star filled clusters. Kendle's skill delivers you a ready-made piece that you can now take to your favourite place and relax in the ambience to the perfect musical compliment to drift off to a layered and blissful slice of musical night sky watching. It is rightly so the longest piece on the album, and it needs to be, dear constant reader; I once again defy you not to get lost in the sheer magnificence of this charming track.

Celaeno, known to many as the “Lost Pleiad” because it is difficult to see the star with the naked eye and hence has received the tag just given, is our last track. Unfortunately constant reader the journey now begins to come to an end and our own personal star ship is reaching the final destination. For musical purposes our destination is Celaeno. For this track, Kevin Kendle is solo and great thanks must be paid to Nigel Shaw and Brian Abbot for their brilliant help and musical genius on this celestial journey. I was always told in life to try and leave the best to last and leave your audience wanting more. Kendle does just that and the reprise wraps up this amazing package for another album; this was the track that left each and every hair on my body fully standing to attention and that takes some doing - simply outstanding and my personal favourite.

In summary, Kevin Kendle has once again delivered to his audience a product of total quality. This is an album that I would without reservation recommend, an album of majesty, an album of beauty, and it shows that one thing will never change - if you see a CD with the name Kevin Kendle on it, you can be completely certain that within the confines of the plastic casing will be around sixty minutes of music that will show total dedication and love that a musician has for his art and an outstanding album, from an outstanding musician.

Rating:5 Stars
Favourite Tracks: Alcyone and the brilliant Celaeno

Steve Sheppard
Radio Presenter, BBC Radio Solent and Quality Beats Radio

© 2020 Eventide Music | PO Box 27  Baldock  Hertfordshire  SG7  6UH   UK | (+44) 01462 893995