Fresh Aire 8  (Audio CD) 
by Mannheim Steamroller

The eighth installment in the Chip Davis-Mannheim Steamroller Fresh Aire series is actually a soundtrack for a video and DVD production that Davis (who's the composer, arranger, CEO, and Svengali behind all things Steamroller) developed concurrently with the music. Independent of the video, the music appears supplemental to the visuals because the 12 selections--the first track is carved up into a five-part "suite"--often struggle to deliver much lyricism or linear flow, making the audio-only experience a marginally interesting event, even for Mannheim loyalists. Always thematic affairs, the eighth Fresh Aire (involving the London Symphony) addresses infinity. Knock an 8 on its side and it becomes the symbol for infinity; it can also be turned into a stylish logo for the disc's commemorative T-shirt.

Davis takes a musical stab at infinite topics such as philosophy, big bang theory, math, art, etc. For the topic of music, Davis creates (and this is not a joke) an ode to "Steamy," a personified steamroller, and the track opens with an electronic hammer rhythmically whacking a synthesized rail. A bouncy saxophone line eventually follows and the liner notes tell us Steamy eventually is dancing with "Dreamy." Hmmm.... Davis aims for clean, wholesome, Disneyesque fun in his works, and that's commendable. Yet clean and wholesome can also be compelling and inventive. On its own, other than some exceptions such as the Middle Eastern-flavored "Night Party" in the opening suite, this music is neither. --Terry Wood