Awakening

A British-born arranger and songwriter who has worked with everyone from Dolly Parton to Rufus Wainwright, Jeremy Lubbock has a shelfload of awards to his credit. Awakening is his first proper solo record, a light classical collaboration with producer Tony McAnany, whose albums of Gregorian chants and the early music of Hildegard VonBingen were the pop-classical success story of the '90s. Awakening is unlikely to repeat that feat, partially because it lacks an easy-to-grasp conceit that would move it out of the tiny demographic market for this sort of thing. Aside from a pair of vocal tracks sung by Chaka Khan and Darlene Koldenhoven, Awakening is a strictly orchestral album filled with lovely but non-descript melodies closer to the pleasant but lightweight elevator music of Mantovani than anything else; despite the utter seriousness with which Lubbock and McAnany approach the music, it simply cannot support the grand emotional claims of the overblown and somewhat pretentious liner notes. While undeniably pretty and skillfully arranged, Awakening is not music that "speaks of the yearning in the human soul for beauty and promise." However, it will no doubt be huge among those folks who program the music for dental office waiting rooms and corporate telephone answering systems.