Across Kidron Brook

Tim Schell would, if you asked him, probably downplay his abilities humbly. Fortunately, I am in a position where I can exalt his abilities truthfully to reveal the many talents of this young artist. On Across Kidron Brook from Tim Schell, Tim has become the master mind of a complex journey as he attacks many of the long standing ideas we have held about reality, about society, about the nature of living and of death, about the existence of fluffy, all-look-no-substance pop bands that thrive today despite our many complaints and groans, about the spirituality of human beings, and many other things. All this as a guitar-ripping, hip-hop-beatin', jazz-improvisator, and poet. After I heard some of the things he had been working on for his album, I was amazed at the fundamental simplicities and the intricate complexities of his songs. He is a solo artist in the complete definition of the term from writing and performing his own words and music to even the graphic art contained on the album itself. From 'Elevate', where he promotes the mind-strength of the common man to defeat the hardships imposed by the ruling elite, to 'Elysium's Way', in which he describes a delirious dream sequence into death with the result of a startling revelation, to 'Damn the Sophists!', a very startlingly true and rebellious account of the educational system, to 'Visions of Heaven', a tripped-out journey into the possibilities of the afterlife, to 'Sunset Fields', an instrumental, a jazz improvisational (with one person?!), very comfortably showcasing his musical talents. All twelve tracks seem to reveal something new and different and certainly worth listening to. - E. Freeman (ImagiNation Press)