Reviews - Healing Space

"Over the course of just three albums (this being his third), Ray (a.k.a. Ray Leonard) has emerged as one of the most consistently excellent craftsmen (please excuse the sexist term) in the field of electronic keyboard-based new age music. His music is at once new and old. It harkens back to the golden era of this genre when artists used all manner of synthesizers in celebration of the ethereal feel and celestial sounds the instruments could uniquely make, yet it is wholly modern in superb production quality (Leonard's CDs always sound terrific) and in its avoidance of cliché. Healing Space is no simple throwback or homage album.

The other aspect of Ray Leonard's recordings that I have come to admire, and which seems to have reached a new zenith on Healing Space, is his ability to stamp a trademark "vibe" on his music, no matter what the tempo or particular mood of a piece. For me, this is the mark of a truly great new age musician, as only the best are able to do this time after time. For comparison's sake, Kevin Kendle and Llewellyn come to mind as also having this talent. Each of these three make music that is almost instantly recognizable as being uniquely their own, despite obvious differences between recordings.

On Healing Space, Leonard once again concentrates on composing and performing music that evokes both deep peace and also a subtle sense of awe and wonder (perfectly portrayed by the album cover, featuring a white dove lying in space, while Earth lies beneath it). When rhythms are present, as they are on some tracks, they are gentle and unforced, never strident or in your face. While there are moments when the music strays into a minor key, much of the album is bathed in warm major key notes and chords. To my ears, some of the tracks also carry a hint of classic spacemusic as well, e.g. Ray frequently features serene washes of keyboards on the recording (such as on "The Glory Tree").

There is a gentleness of spirit that permeates Ray's music. You hear it in the delicate interplay of harp, bell-tones, and hushed choral effects of the title track, the subtly majestic piano and synthesizer shadings of "Unconditional," the cascading sunshower keyboards and bubbly synth bass on "Endless Fields," the celebratory bells and softly soaring synths of "Galaxies Dreaming," the whisper soft romanticism of "Sun Prayer," the mysterious haunting EM-like track, "Moonrise" or the wavy undulations of the neo-ambient "The Body Temple." Whatever song you single out on Healing Space, you are treated to music that is exceedingly well-produced and engineered, as well as being soulful and sincere - never maudlin or trite.

It's puzzling (if not even despairing) that an artist of this caliber doesn't have a huge following. I don't know if people just don't know about him or that the masses' taste in new age music is just that poor. If you have ever considered yourself a fan of this genre, and you haven't heard a Ray Leonard recording yet, you're in for a treat when you do. He is one of the finest practitioners of electronic new age music recording today and Healing Space is his best release to date. The album easily earns my highest recommendation.

Post-script to review: I negelected to point out in my review the impact that new age music pioneer Suzanne Doucet had in assisting Ray Leonard with this album, from co-producing it to lending a hand in other areas as well. Having heard some of Ms. Doucet's fine work, in particular her recording with Gary Miraz, Resonance, I now recognize her "fingerprints" as being evident on Healing Space. This album's excellence is surely a feather in her cap as co-producer and "creative consultant." Well done to both her and Ray Leonard. —Bill Binkelman, windandwire.com

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