FamilyFans Music

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One World

John Tesh

GTSP Records / Word Records

It's weird how things work out sometimes. One day I'm telling my friends that John Tesh made a BIG mistake leaving a comfortable gig as co-host of Entertainment Tonight to pursue a career in music. Now, a few short years later, I'm listening to Tesh's latest CD, One World, and thinking Tesh's exit from his day job was probably the smartest thing he ever did. This album is proof of that.

Primarily instrumental, One World brims with creativity and artistry as it takes the listener on a musical tour of this great big world. Many stops on this tourist trip are worth visiting often. “Flamenco Legato,” for instance, is a Spanish dream. Recorded in Italy, it features a hauntingly beautiful piano intro that soon gives way to an arresting Spanish guitar accented by the passionate percussion of a flamenco dancer. Intricate and detailed, this is easily the most breathtaking cut on the album.

But as the used car salesmen say—that’s not all folks! A few skips on the CD wing us now to Ireland, where bagpipes herald our arrival for a joyous celebration at “Emerald Bay.” If we are exhausted by that Irish dance, we can soon relax in Northern Arizona where Point of Grace fronts a lullaby of praise called “Who Am I,” or skip off to the Pantheon in Rome for “Canta Domine,” a meditative Gregorian-chant memory of our Christian roots.

And before our trip is done, we must make a final stop in Italy. Here we experience the grand, orchestral title song that blends elements of everywhere we’ve been into one impressive whole—impressive all the more when you consider Tesh wrote or co-wrote most of the cuts on this album.

In short, One World is excellent work, and a flight of passion every music lover should take.

--Mike Nappa

FAMILYFANS RATING: A

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