Kind as the Shade By The Bentley Project

 

Kind as the Shade

By

The Bentley Project

Written by

Steve Sheppard

 

It is very rare that an album is said to be, what I would call the complete package, however with this new release by The Bentley Project called Kind as Shade, we seem to have obtained that, from the album art to the soft mellow tones contained within, everything about this album is loveable and likeable, and is one of those albums that in years to come, will still sail the sea of relevancy, with sails proudly unfurled.

Kind as the Shade is a 9 track album that gives us a delectable journey, one of a time long past, but also, of a time yet to come. It is a remarkable work of art, the opening piece for example entitled Distant Thunder portrays a storm dancing on the horizon, and the instrumental magic of Dana Woolard on cello makes that happen with a gloriously moody performance.

Kind as the Shade is of course our title track, and I must say is one of my personal favourites from the album, pure vocals, a mixture of music of ancient times and new age, this classy composition stands tall among the realms of this genre, to simply prove what can be achieved when a flowing artistic talent is employed.

One can dip their toes deeper into this splendid work of the artists by embracing opuses akin to Dance of the Rose, a track that sways with the motion of a summer breeze and the flute performance by Amado Espinosa was sublime, I have not heard one so good in such a musical context, since the one used by the band Rainbow who utilised the Bavarian string orchestra at the time to do so.

With choice pieces like the soothing musical tale of My Whisper to You and the crisp yet poignant acoustic guitar of Mark Bentley, or the sumptuous performance by Theresa Bentley on both synths and harp on the concluding composition called Kiss Of Stars, we can bring this simply idyllic musical voyage to a conclusion, only to press play and leave on repeat, this trust me, this is one of those few albums you would wish to do that with, it is utter perfection.

Kind as the Shade by The Bentley Project is an outstanding collection of beautiful arrangements; the new age genre has just leaped forward 100% with the creation of a release like this, exquisitely produced and performed, handsomely charming and listenable, and I rarely say this, but I truly believe that I have just listened to one of the best New Age music albums this century has gifted us with ease.