River of Stars

by Jonathan WidranIf there was ever a recording created for placement on the syndicated Musical Starstreams space music show, this galaxy of pretty but meandering rays of light is it. The jacket photo shows husband and wife team Pamela and Randy Copus with harp and acoustic guitar, but there are other softhearted sounds at work here creating the celestial tapestry as well. The title track blends grand piano eloquence with guitar, flute, and harp along with rushes of breathy, angelic voices. "Stella Maris" features the flute weaving around playful synth footprints and percussion effect, and tunes like "First Daughter of the Moon" feature machine generated orchestral swells. The main connecting threads are the heavy atmosphere and ambience that serve to create pure relaxation even as the songs hope to prompt skyward imaginations. Many passages are quite beautiful, and it's nice when new age artists can restrain themselves to under five and six minutes per tune. But like most projects of this nature, a little goes a long way.