PAUL SUTIN & STEVE HOWE: SERAPHIM

Seraphim is not a Steve Howe solo album per se, but a collaborative effort with a New-Age artist named Paul Sutin. This is not a Classical guitar album with a bit of keyboards in the background; rather, it is a New-Age album with a bit of (mostly) acoustic guitar in the background. There are even bird noises in the background on some tracks! Only occasionally does Steve come to the fore with a few barely recognizable acoustic or sometimes electric guitar notes, but never something "flashy". Soft keyboards dominate the proceedings and not Steve's guitar playing. The "other" Steve, Steve Hackett, did a similar thing on his collaboration with Gandalf, another New-Age artist.

This wholly instrumental music is extremely subtle and clearly designed for relaxation rather than attentive listening. It is the perfect kind of music to have in the background while reading things that require much attention. The arrangements are never complex and the sound is never anywhere near aggressive.

The quality of the recording is by no means poor, and the result cannot be described as anything but pleasant even if utterly unexciting. Still, this is a fine album of easy listening, but for Prog fans there is nothing of real interest here. Not even for Steve Howe's most ardent fans (like this reviewer) is there anything of particular interest. Maybe it is best seen as a Paul Sutin album full stop?

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