Back to Life

Been listening to BACK TO LIFE for about a month and it is really very good. Drifty, meandering, exotic, floating, dreamy but with tones of unwanted dreams. Nothing creepy, but interesting. That layering and repetition he does so well -- same yet forever changing, always pushing, shifting endless exploration -- it's fantastic here. In the second disc, which is the more powerful, he uses the sound of helicopter rotors, and it works! In places it's like some relentless wild demon flight. Yet I work to this music. I am a self-employed creative writer, I work in solitary, have for decades, and music is important to both my sanity and productivity. I cannot work to music with lyrics because the words in the songs interfere with the words going through my head. So I rely on ambient (New Age is a category name I personally reject) and Roach's music is primary in my collection. I could give you list of Roach's stuff, from DREAMTIME RETURN (one of his earliest; buy it if you don't have it) to EARLY MAN to the more recent ROAD ETERNAL and many others (though not all, I caution) and it would be impossible for me to tell you which was the "best." To ask which is the best is an irrelevant and useless question. If you like ambient, if you have a need for it, as I do, BACK TO LIFE is solid Steve. - JC

This has become a favorite of mine. It has the ambient repetition with depth of tones and good rhythmic support. It is so relaxing. I gave it 5 stars because it is one of his better albums. I have around 15 Roach CDs and this is in the top portion of my list. It kind of reminds me of Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces. I highly recommend this disc to any Steve Roach fan and a newcomer to ambient music in general.

I love this artist and this disc is very fine.The first cut "Where Rasa Lives" is my fave.

Heard a track on Pandora I believe, and bought the CD. One track is over an hour long 'Where Rasa Lives'. The music itself is soothing, soulful, relaxing, and great to calm the mind. Highly recommended.

Fantastic!

Big comeback of Steve Roach? But did he ever leave? No, definitely not a comeback, but certainly a big one!!! No question about this, because "Back To Life" double CD presents The Master at the very top of his unmeasurable creativity and invention. Together with "Groove Immersion" it comprises "Steve Roach 2012 Box Set", so a very hot item. Both these titles are sold also separately, but missing this box set in my own collection would be a big mistake. "Where Rasa Lives" fires the show with gracefully floating ambience clocking to 15-minute mark, but after 9 minutes "hidden" crystalline grooves enter the stage. On the first "look" it sounds quite minimal, but careful listening explores all kinds of sounds and atmospheres, all interacting precisely, carefully balanced and graciously moving just like the droplets on the album's cover image (absolutely gorgeous work by Kristina Kotarski, the hellfirediva!!!). "Where Rasa Lives" is one of the best and most tranquil pieces of music Steve ever did (and he did a whole bunch of them!), a pure symphony for my ears!!! "Cloud Cover" lives and breathes, again packed with amazing sounds and noises, Steve's soundsculpting shifts this composition into another level, a level solely occupied by him now! It's heavy thunderous piece that smoothly transfers after 6 minutes into serenely drifting washes peppered by some highly attractive noisier ingredients. The title of the next track speaks for itself, "Tranquility Base". Gently pulsing slow-mo trancey/tribal grooves join the show for another truly exciting, one of its kind, sonic pleasure. It's ultra deeply absorbing 16-minute bliss!!! "The Wonder Of It All" moves back to louder plateau with more monstrous, spiraling dronescapes, powerful and grandeur, another top-notch adventure!!! The next composition, "Touchstones", strikes with its intesity and drama. And it keeps on rolling, because "Everything Inside" is breathtaking odyssey into the deep cave to explore its stunningly spectacular sceneries. Steve at his most droning!!! And the title track is yet to come... The closing part of disc 1, "Back To Life" keeps on the route, less massive, but still quite symphonic and later uplifted with fragile groovy flavours. Absolutely grandiose finale of the first half!!! Disc 2 features 70-minute long form composition breathing with many of the finest spices from the first disc and creating continuous flow of deeply absorbing ambience drifting through richly colored organic passages and movements, again showcasing refined artistry of its virtuoso. The future is now!!! "Back To Life" 2xCD is without any doubt one of the best and most groundbreaking recordings of 2011 (or 2012?). No matter, I think it's just a question of time before "Back To Life" will become another milestone not only in Steve's phenomenal career, but also in the ambient genre as a whole. Yes, a truly genius, all-inclusive, performance by this ambient giant, and for me, a truly magnificent and immersing lifelong sonic experience!!! Life is so beautiful!!!Richard Gürtler (Dec 29, 2011, Bratislava, Slovakia)

'Back To Life' is a brilliant ambient/drone/atmospheric masterpiece. I can't all explain the nuances of the various journey's you'll encounter over the various 2 x cd's, or of the nature of the technical terms that others use better than I, or being fancy with a reviewer's fancy words, but if quality musical creativity is able to be listened to, and recognized, and marveled at, like BTL is, then you only have to listen to it to understand the meaning of the term 'brilliant'.Presented in this year's Box Set offer along with Groove Immersion, this Collector's collectible is now surely, as previously described by another reviewer, is the best way of purchasing Steve's work.We so often live in a world of expectation and misunderstanding, of our existence, of ourselves, that while some music attempts to reconcile, Steve's music explores, fulfills, and assures us that we haven't done everything yet, and that life and ourselves are deeper than we thought...Not with wonder and amazement, yes, surely, that is there, but here with the success of his music having the ability to fathom and access the unaccessible, and obtain the unobtainable--and to find ourselves again.Or at least direct us to entertain the idea that our ability to listen and suspend our outside to explore the inside is just as important, if not more important, than guessing what it could be like--rather than be willing to not explore it at all.BTL sweeps you away...and keeps doing it, again and again, until it is at the end of the 2nd cd, that you can only come to the decision is that you are the journey, and that the music is helping you find yourself.I have most of Steve's work, but this is by far the best so far, IMO. And does it go to show that living in a quiet environment will surely give you access to a deeper creative balance that will bring you back to life?Indeed, it could be, but enough of the analysis; add BTL to your playlist and simply enjoy it for reaching you deep inside this exceptional music.

Greeat Music as always from Steve.

Spatiale et stratosphérique, la musique de Steve Roach nous transporte dans les courants chauds et enveloppants de la Voie lactée. On survole des déserts, des myriades étoilées, sur des tapis de lumière. Tissé de synthétiseurs hypnotiques déroulant en vagues ralenties, le résultat est tout simplement magique et fascinant. Aucun accroc de mauvais goût ne viendra interrompre vos méditations ou vos voyages interstellaires.