Gifts of the Angels

Steven Halpern has more than 60 recordings in circulation, including audio projects ostensibly designed to enhance memory, wealth, and weight loss. He even has his own trademarked slogan--the Halpern Effect(tm)! (Take that, Mozart.) Thus, it's easy to view Halpern's high-volume output since 1975 less as art and more like a commodity. Gifts of the Angels, a 68-minute compilation (sampling eight albums and adding two original pieces), offers a few nuggets that suggest Halpern's music at times can stand on its own merits, detached from all of its deep-bliss, New Age pretensions. "Celestial Prophecy," is a nicely detailed (which is not to say complex) excursion on solo piano that briefly stirs the senses, and the title track from Higher Ground is a delicate space-music standout. Meanwhile, the 1970s-flashback tonality of Halpern's electric piano (one piece, "Earthrise," can be traced to Halpern's debut release, Spectrum Suite) dates several of the tracks included here. Nevertheless, the disc's pace, which drifts deeper into the ether on each of the last five tracks, is nicely constructed for those aiming to nod off into a state of contented nothingness. --Terry Wood

Price: $16.98

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