The music of Olympian bard Chester Baldwin is always a journey of discovery for the person who delves into it. I have known Chester and his family for almost 25 years now, and I feel his music all these years later is as fresh and invigorating as it was when I first heard him play it at his house in 1995. Over the years, I have developed a true admiration and respect for Chester's musical talents. When a few weeks back, he brought me his newest double album, " Leaving the Galaxy " I was thrilled to take the ride into space with the music of his latest adventure. Chester had graciously included a cover letter with the double album, which he hoped would encourage its listeners to create their own narrative to the story the album encouraged to explore.
Chester Baldwin is a very verbal bard who in the spirit of the best folk music traditions of this country writes beautiful, soulful ballads about life and its endless challenges. It is impossible to listen to Chester's music and not walk away deeply affected by the experience. Chester writes all his own music, does all the instrumentation for it, and his musical expressions remind me of both Bob Dylan and Neil Young, and that is not saying little.
" Leaving the Galaxy " is unique in that it is a totally instrumental double album, a bold and courageous move for a musician who is known to mostly express himself in the verbal poetry and nuance of his ballads. In recent years, Chester has ventured into solely instrumental songs, quite successfully so, in his albums " Eccentricity ", " Alter Egos and Secret Identities ", and " Nevertheless ", and the concept album " Approaching Earth ", and " Leaving the Galaxy " is his first completely instrumental adventure. Chester hopes to introduce the double album as an internationally released album, and has translated all the titles of the 24 tracks also in Spanish. The album will be accompanied with a story line for most of the tracks, but for now, Chester wanted to give listeners a chance to imagine their own story line. The thread of " Leaving the Galaxy " is a continuation of the voyages of his character Percules, a space alien, who as Chester explains " after completing his mission to survey the cultural anthropology and variable metaphysical aspects of the Earth, is now ready to leave the galaxy and return to the far reaches of his home ."
Chester recommended me to listen to the double album with headphones, a recommendation I heeded, intrigued. The bard is definitely right about the headphones magnifying the very enjoyable ride into space with his instrumental creations. The first 4 songs of the first CD, " Escape Velocity ", " Navigating the EMC 2X2 Wormhole ", " Arpeg - Gi - Oh " and " Starcraft on Cruise Control ", I found are a lush introduction to the feeling of being in space. The songs are fluid, open, create a sensation of being introduced and getting used to the vastness of space. Song #5 " Vintage Motion 80 " picks up speed, you can almost feel the spaceship you imagine yourself in by now, shifting gears and jolting you forward deeper into the mysteries of the endless void all around you. The feeling is pleasant, and song #6, " When I return to You ", allows for a moment of relaxation, of wonder as you absorb the magnificence of the stars and planets passing you by, the melody is nostalgic here, perhaps as the space traveler wonders about the things he left behind on earth. Song #7 " Riding the solar winds to Triton " creates a sense of having the space ship slow down a bit, so you can feast your eyes on all the wonders of the universe, a sensation of its floating along big sails, like a space sailboat, a lovely musically created image. The piano music in song #7 is very spiritual, and creates a sensation of a dance, of the space traveler imagining him or herself dancing on the stars, it creates a deep sense of freedom, of endless possibilities. Chester is quite brilliant at creating a sense of his signature as a musician while at the same time being able to create space for self - expression for the listener, a space where the listener can safely wander, a magnificent feat, considering the musician takes us into deep space on this venture. Song #8 and song #9, " Kelvin to Go " continue this path of openness, and song #10 " Life on the other Side " finds us now with solid feet, so to speak, well - adjusted to our space exploration and adventure. Song # 10, " Life on Other Worlds ", plays like a slow pas de deux, it is deeply intimate, like a love song, full of longing, of reflection, too. It is one of Chester's many talents, this ability to go deep into the fibers and heartbeat of the soul. The first CD ends its first part of the space adventure with song # 11 and song # 12, " Star Jump to ... " and " As long as You are Here with me ", as a beautiful synthesis of both the openness and intimacy that this highly lyrical journey conveys, with hints of the musical largesse of Electric Light Orchestra.
The second CD starts with a song called " Creeping in the Dark ", and introduces us to a completely different mood of the space journey. We are by now very much aware of how far away form earth we are, and song # 1 wants to create the very profound sensation of being part now of a very alien world. New experiences have this double blessing of being both invigorating and deeply exhausting. Chester underlines this awareness with slow paced instrumentals that feel purposefully heavy to create that sensation of being overwhelmed and thrilled all in one. Song # 2, " Checkered Cab to Pluto " further explores this mixed blessing, with a beautiful piano melody that stretches its mood like silk across the vastness of space. The piano Chester creates in this double album is absolutely superb, classical, lyrical, unsurpassed and simply masterful. Song # 3 " Now Passing Vega " is very melodious, and again treats us to his smooth piano skills. It is a song full of passion, expressed with conviction, energy and depth. Song # 4, " Pulse ", a fast paced song with a drumbeat in the background, that seems to create the sensation of the heartbeat of the living universe, and song # 5, " Adrift in Space ", an expansive and thought provoking instrumental piece, with deep references to Neil Young 's music, and song # 6 " Round the Round ", a fast paced melody with hints of ELO 's upbeat rhythms, that seems to propel us further into the depths of our space adventure, transition beautifully to the last 6 songs of the second CD which tie together very neatly the lyricism of this well crafted and well conceived double album. Song # 7 , " The Elven Mines of Eden's Second Moon ", beautifully creates the auditory sensation of tiny elven anvils mining precious space minerals in an instrumental that is both playful and spiritual, a reflection of man's endless need for resources, and in this way this song has hints of Pink Floyd's spiritual anguish and melancholy. It is rich in nuance, both musically and emotionally. Song # 8, " Jungle Ruins on Asteroid Chaos - 42 ", is a song with a very pronounced African - Carribean beat, it is lush, sensual, free - spirited, with undertones of slower paced colours of a Neil Young style narrative guitar. A very unique instrumental in flavor and feel. Song # 9, " Just a few Lightyears away ", continues the Neil Young vibe with a definite personal interpretation on the part of Chester, always a challenge to pull that kind of interpretative narrative off successfully. Chester Baldwin can easily stand next to the best of them. Song # 10, " Cielos de Hollywood ", is a gorgeous piano piece, that reminds the listener of Chester's presence in this highly personal journey he allows us to have. I really enjoy these signatures Chester Baldwin leaves along the trail of this space adventure, this way of pulling us back into the shared intimacy of this journey. Song # 11 " 7.83 - Planet Vibes " is an intriguing introduction to the idea that the earth vibrates at the frequency of 7.83 Hertz, a frequency scientifically verified, and that Native American cultures believe to be the frequency at which the earth communicates with its inhabitants. 7.83 Hertz is the resonant frequency of the earth's electromagnetic field vibrations. It is referred to as the Schumann resonance and vibrates at 7.83 Hertz and it is said to be the heartbeat of the earth. Native American cultures believe this frequency to be a healing influence to man and animal. It is shown to have a beneficial influence on the immune system. In Chester's story of this musical adventure, the alien Percules takes back a sample of the earth's vibrations to his world, to allow his world to help humans, and to be able to communicate with the earth itself. The interesting thing about this instrumental piece is that Chester includes voices of the different members of his family, which adds an eerie quality to the song, and also a very moving quality, about the mystery of life on earth in general, which makes for a beautiful conclusion to this musical venture, and which allows us to come back down to earth, so to speak, which leads into the final song, song # 12, " Leaving the Galaxy ", which is also the title of the double album and which musically propels us back into earth's orbit with its fast paced introduction and slow descent and re- entering of earth's atmosphere, physically and emotionally, with a reflective piano piece that allows us to exit the space craft's doors and find us back on solid ground, wiser, and deeply enriched by the experience.
This musical odyssey is magnificent, deeply relaxing, expanding, intellectually and emotionally. A good friend of mine in North Africa, a talented nature photographer, recently lost his father, and is heartbroken. Chester had just shared " Leaving the Galaxy " with me, and I decided to send my friend the music of Chester's album. I am sure it will bring him both meaning and perspective. It is worth noting that the art work on the double album was done by Chester's granddaughter, Ruby " Tabby " Baldwin. There is something very reassuring about this musical adventure of Chester Baldwin. " Leaving the Galaxy " fills me with hope, for man kind, for the future, and hope in these confusing and uncertain days is everything.
Trudi Ralston.
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