--- Vail <glendora1355@...> wrote:

> There is not much new
> coming from Chip. I'm sure a lot has to do with
> other projects he's been working on (i.e. all the
> food products).

Arghh.... I get tired of all that food stuff. I
remember when getting the Steamroller catalogue in the
Fall meant seeing cool new albums. Now, it just means
seeing repackaged old stuff, and tons of new barbecue
sauce and scented candles.

> I also believe that there has also
> been a falling out, so to speak, to the fan base. I
> know that Fresh Aire 8 just didn't have the impact
> or sales that the earlier FA albums had.

Understanably so. FA8 was quite a step down from FA7.
I think Chip worried too much about the DVD aspect of
it, and forgot to just write good music.

> And the
> Christmas stuff is not as unique as it once was,
> with all the other "new age" artists that are out
> there.

Not only is it not as unique, the quality just isn't
there. "A Fresh Aire Christmas" was brilliant,
whereas "Christmas Extraordinaire" often sounds a bit
hokey. I mean, I can still go back and listen to
Chip's versions of Greensleeves and Veni Veni, and
think they sound incredible. But NOTHING on Christmas
Extraordinaire comes remotely close to either of those
pieces. And, then, of course, there was the Halloween
debacle... made worse by completely pointless release
of "Monster Mix" (well, maybe not completely
pointless... Chip probably lined his pockets by
suckering a few people into buying it.)

> I think it might be fun if the group begin to expand
> it's interest to other artists similar to Mannheim,
> if Eric (our moderator) wouldn't mind.

Anyone know if Richard Burmer still does anything? I
emailed him about a year or two ago, and he said he
had a new album in the works, but it was held up due
to medical problems, and that's the last I heard of
it.


> dawiltro <dawiltro@...> wrote:
> Hey,
> I just discovered this message board, and having
> been a long time fan
> of Steamroller, figured I'd drop in and say Hello.
>
> There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of activity
> here, so maybe
> everyone else has quit. But, just in case anyone is
> still around,
> what are your thoughts on Mannheim lately? I have
> to say, as much as
> I like their stuff, I think they're on a downward
> spiral. They
> release too many compilation albums (Romantic
> Themes, Romantic
> Melodies, American Spirit, etc, etc), and overall,
> the quality of
> their work lately just doesn't compare to the stuff
> they were doing in
> the late 80s, early 90s ("Fresh Aire Christmas" and
> "Fresh Aire 7"
> remain their best albums, IMO.)
>
> Ambience is a so-so series, certainly not on par
> with the Fresh Aire
> series. Honestly, Bird Song was pretty bad, Summer
> Song had a few
> pretty good tracks, and Autumn Song was a decent
> album overall, though
> it falls short of any Fresh Aire album. I think
> Chip has become TOO
> reliant on MIDI. Yeah, I know Steamroller always
> had synth elements,
> and that's cool, but lately, he's become a one-man
> band and I think
> the music suffers as a result. I would have loved
> to here some "real"
> instruments on Autumn song.
>
> And what's the deal with Night Song? According to
> their website it's
> due out, "First half of 2005." Well, the first half
> has come and
> gone, and still no Night Song. Anyone know of a new
> release date?
>
> Okay, that was a longer post than I intended.
> Hopefully someone is
> still using this group and will read it!
>
>
>
>
>
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