Consumer Guide Album

Jon Hassell: The Surgeon of the Nightsky Restores Dead Things by the Power of Sound [Intuition/Capitol, 1987]
Minimalist trumpeter discovers keyboard textures while abandoning quasi-traditionalist surface, just like Miles Davis before him. But though it's also true that both men have done their schlockiest work while tickling the microchips, Hassell's impulses are so esoteric that a little schlock becomes them. I doubt he'll ever equal his first Eno project, and Power Spot is tougher. But if you're looking for ambient music that eschews new age sweetener, this'll calm your nerves real nice. B+